The Effects Of Drug Abuse On The Body And Mind

The use of heroin, cocaine, and other illicit drugs has become a public health concern especially during pregnancy. Maternal substance abuse has become an issue during the crack epidemic in the 1980’s; however, there is an alarm rate of infants born addicted to heroin. More than 3.7% women have indicated the uses some form of illicit drugs during their pregnancy, as well as 1.9 % reports binge drinking (Bhuvaneswar el at., 2008; Grant el at., 2009). With this in mind, more than 375,000 infants are born to maternal substance abusers each year costing over $100,000 in medical expenses covered by the state (Reitman, 2002).

Prenatal exposure of a child to harm due to the mother’s use of an illegal drug or other substance.

Substance abuse during pregnancy can have a negative force on the health and wellness of not only the fetus, but that of the mother. The harmful effects of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs on an unborn child can be devastating and can have significant consequences to its use. Sometimes the effects can be faced and treated, and other times the outcome is a lifelong challenge. During the prenatal period, it is important that new mothers are informed of the different types of abuse, how they may affect the fetus, and the adverse conditions their child may be faced with before and after birth.

Others, including myself, maintain that imprisoning these women is not the answer and also not very effective in the long term.

Through the years, substance misuse in the United States has turned into an industrious issue influencing numerous people. In 2008, it was assessed that 17.8 million Americans beyond 18 years old where substance subordinate. Women who use medications during pregnancy can have an enduring impact on fetal. Medications can have an impact of maternal and child wellbeing, yet there are a lot of different variables, which influence it, poor social environment, nourishment, cleanliness, and sexual abuse. Regenerative interruption connected with heroin utilization has been shown in both and women and even low dosages of opiates can impede ordinary ovarian capacity and ovulation. The harm that goes hand in hand with substance utilization comes either straightforwardly from the impact of the medication itself or from issues identified with development and/or unexpected labor. The entanglements of jumbling components clamorous way of life, poor nourishment, liquor utilization and cigarette smoking influence the appraisal of the impacts of cocaine in pregnancy. In obstetric practice, 100% of pregnant women utilizing cocaine or heroin are cigarette smokers. Cigarette smoking is presumably the most well known manifestation of substance utilizes and is noteworthy corresponding considering ladies who use unlawful medications. Babies whose moms smoked in pregnancy have a tendency to have lower conception weights and diminished length, cranial and thoracic

When a woman uses heroin while pregnant, her baby is at risk for many challenging effects that will ultimately follow him or her as they grow into an adult. As heroin enters a mother’s system, the drug crosses into the child through the placenta (“Heroin Addiction”, n.d.). While a baby is in utero, a mother’s substance abuse can cause a fetus to grow at a slower rate, lead to the rupturing of the membranes surrounding the baby that results in premature labor, and cause a possible stillbirth, which means the fetus dies in the womb (“An Overview of Heroin”, n.d.). Substance abuse can also cause the placenta to separate from the uterine wall leading to dangerous heavy bleeding, which is a threat to both mother and child (“Heroin and Pregnancy,” 2015). Along with possible placenta abruption, the use of heroin can lead to the intrauterine passage of meconium (“Opioid Abuse,” 2012). After labor and delivery, the effects

The National Health Institute (NIH) explains that addictive drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine, barbiturates, diazepam, and opiates consumed during pregnancy pass from mother to the fetus by crossing the placenta. This causes the baby to become addicted to these drugs along with the mother. Once born, the newborn no longer receives these drugs which then results in NAS (“Neonatal abstinence syndrome”, 2012a).

After reading about various topics regarding drug addiction, it wasn’t easy to narrow down this topic. Drug addiction and pregnancy was the topic found to be most interesting. Estimates based on court documents, news accounts, and data collected by attorneys representing pregnant women indicate that at least 200 women in more than thirty states have been arrested and criminally charged for their alleged drug use or other actions during pregnancy (Moore, 2010). Should pregnant women struggling with drug addiction be criminally prosecuted? This is a

The title slide and variables could have been explained in a way to let the reader know that neonatal outcome was being measured after exposure to treatment medication methadone and buprenorphine and not just "opioids."Mariah's presentation followed the grading rubric she did not over-crowd her slides, which made it an easy read. Overall, Mariah's presentation was informative.

In today’s society people are talking about babies being born to drugs, and how could a mother do that to their unborn child. Drug addiction is a very serious issue that needs more research. We are still learning the effects of substance abuse. One problem that needs to be looked at is are there enough Rehabilitation Centers, to help the women who are addicted to these different street drugs. Also doctor and nurses should not judge these women but instead give them the best prenatal care that can be provided. We need to see what harm and side affects it has on the mother and baby, so that we can be able to understand better how to treat these women and get them off drugs before they do harm their babies.

Even though there are many studies that highlight the damaging effects of maternal alcohol use on a fetus in utero, there are a multitude of other substances that are used by pregnant mothers that have similar and even, in some cases, more extreme repercussions such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. When speaking about pregnancy and drug use, the most common drug that comes to mind is alcohol. During 12 years of schooling, most people are exposed, at one point or another, to the idea of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the detrimental effects of alcohol on a fetus in utero. The effects of maternal use of the aforementioned illicit drugs is less studied, partially because they are used less frequently. It is important, however, that as a population, we become more educated about these drugs and the potentially life threatening outcomes for babies in utero.

Many people might wonder why kids are born differently than what most consider “normal.” Multiple substances are effects that cause these fetus to develop wrong and not in usual routine that is normally seen in pregnancies. If a pregnant woman chose the wrong temptation and consumed substances that are known to cause damage and can be fatal to a baby, these mothers are making the worst mistake of taking the life of their own child away before the baby can experience what life is. Carrying a baby in the womb is one of the most heaviest challenges a woman can face and many females go wrong by falling into various temptations by not having enough information in pregnancies and going on with their daily lifestyle instead of learning about instant fetal deaths.

(n.d.) also conducted a study focused on infants that were exposed to buprenorphine or methadone while in utero. Unlike MacMullen et al. (2014) their focus was on predicting how the symptoms of NAS might manifest in the exposed newborns. Since the 1970s (MacMullen et al., 2014) methadone has been the treatment of choice for mothers with opioid dependence during pregnancy, the use of this drug allows for a decrease in withdrawal symptoms for the child after birth. The main categories of symptoms include central nervous system hyperirritability, gastrointestinal dysfunction, respiratory distress and vague autonomic symptoms (MacMullen et al., 2014). Although methadone has been being used for many years buprenorphine has only been used since 2002 in the United States (MacMullen et al., 2014). Their research was consistent with Kaltenbach et al. (n.d.) in that infants born to buprenorphine-exposed mothers had lower scores for NAS than those born to methadone-exposed mothers, but still had varying severities of symptoms and scores across all infants. For at least 10 days after birth, an expert scored the newborns on a modified Finnegan scale every 4 hours. The results showed that high birth weight was often a predictor for high NAS scores, along with lower NAS scores for infants delivered by cesarean section. MacMullen et al. (2014) were unable to find any connection between the use of methadone and buprenorphine to indicators of symptoms of NAS. The main

Many women, including teens, abuse drugs while they are pregnant. This rate is especially high to those who are homeless, underprivileged, or live in a broken home. In order for drug abusers to even have a chance at beating their addiction they have to have support whether it’s family, friends, or boyfriend/spouse. They must also let the abuser now all the consequences to themselves and the unborn child. There are many consequences when using drugs during pregnancy such as miscarriage, health risks to baby, and health risks to the mother. And learning disabilities and brain damage to the fetus.

Children can be subjected to the negative effects of parental substance use in a variety of different ways. For example, substance use during pregancy can cause detrimental outcomes for newborn infants by placing them at a higher risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), being born with birth defects, developing behavioral and developmental delays, being born premature, etc. Children with addicted parents, are placed at a higher risk of: lacking appropriate supervision; lacking basic needs such as: food, clothing, housing, and medical care; exposure to violence; developing substance abuse issues themselves.