The Effects Of Heroin On A Pregnant Women

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).

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.

I would like to research if women should face criminal charges for using drugs while pregnant. Women who use substances while pregnant is a serious social and health issue. Prenatal exposure to substances can lead to a number of medical, physical and behavioral problems for the child. Many women who use drugs while pregnant become involved with the legal system and face criminal prosecution, child abuse and neglect charges.

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

The use of controlled substances throughout pregnancy is a very prevalent issue among society today. Controlled substances have devastating effects on not only the mothers using the substances, but also infants while they are in utero and after they are born. Many infants born to mothers, who are abusing drugs, suffer from life threatening illnesses and are forever affected through adulthood. Specifically, heroin is a common drug form that is often used during pregnancy and results in the life threatening effects mentioned above.

This literature review will focus mainly on the drug use of heroin, the scary numbers behind the drug and the sudden rise of overdosing on the drug across the United States. Issues that will be discussed are what is Heroin, what’s in Heroin that makes it addicting, how it can increase the users risk of contracting other life threatening diseases and where it’s use and abuse are most popular across the United states and we will take a look at multiple studies that show examples of our new drug problem in the United States. While we looked at how homicide rates have dropped while in class, the flip side to that is that the amount of drug usage has risen.

Effects may vary depending on family structure, manifesting differently in individual family members; According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse both alcohol and drugs can have dramatic negative effects on a developing fetus. They have been linked with premature birth, decreased head circumference, brain functioning difficulties and low

Methadone maintenance therapy is the primary go to source for addicts looking to quit the street drug, heroin. Methadone on it's own has its own number of controversies within society. However add on the fact that a number of patients that attend the meth clinic that is pregnant, well this can add additional controversy and raise ethical implications as well. Ultimately the child is better off when not being subjected to harmful substances such as drugs an alcohol. However when given the choice of heroin or methadone, we will examine what the benefits of methadone maintenance therapy can provide the mother, and the fetus. Methadone clinics provide a safe form of the drug with clean needles which helps cut the spread of HIV/AIDS among the population. While the client is at the clinic it is a good time to reach out and provide the future mother with resources that may help her once her child is born. Clinicians can also take advantage of this meeting time to reach out to the mother and inform her on the benefits of attending a treatment facility to help achieve sobriety.

The use of illicit drugs and abuse of alcohol exact a steep price from our society. Substance abuse is a factor in many serious ills such as crime. More upsetting, however, is the affects that it has on children born affected from their dependent mothers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that 60 percent of women of childbearing age consume alcoholic beverages despite the fact that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is implicated in a wide range of birth defects and developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, physical abnormalities, and visual and auditory impairments. (Nevitt, 1996)

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

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.

Mary presented as a 24 year old, single African American female who is self-referred at this time; she was, however, recommended by a friend to attend the assessment. Mary has identified that she has consistently used heroin for the last five years and is afraid that she is approximately 12 weeks pregnant, and unable to stop using. Mary has included that she has consumed four to five beers each night. In order to properly develop an appropriate

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.

When a pregnant woman uses drugs she affects the fetus. Scientist have studied facts about the babies born from marijuana users were shorter, weighed less, and had smaller head sizes than those born from the mothers who did not use the drug. When a baby is smaller than its average size the health of the baby has more of a risk to it than an average sized baby. Drug abuse has negative effects on the fetus because they are transferred from the placenta to the fetus which harms the birth of the baby. If a pregnant woman is taking in drugs she is making it harder for the unborn to breath and most of the drugs can cause a miscarriage. If the mother is smoking heroine while having a child, the child can become immune to that drug and become dependant on it. PCP and LSD can lead to various problems for the child such as, low birth weight, poor muscle control, brain damage, and withdrawal syndrome if they are used frequently.

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.