Babies Born Addicted to Drugs and the Side Effects Essay

Words: 2031
Pages: 9

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.
Lets start with what they call
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Also Crack Cocaine exposed babies face an increased risk of lifelong disabilities such as mental retardation and cerebral palsy (lack of oxygen to the brain). During the later months of pregnancy, Crack Cocaine abuse can trigger preterm labor (labor that occurs before 37 weeks of pregnancy). Crack suppresses the mother's appetite hindering the growth of the fetus. Crack Cocaine exposed babies are more likely to be born with low birth weight (less than 5.5 lb/2.5 kg) compared to unexposed babies. Compared to normal-weight babies, low birth weight babies are 20 times more likely to die in their first month.
It is astounding that nearly four percent of pregnant women are involved in using illegal drugs. One of these drugs is heroin. Heroin is a very addictive drug that can often kill its users. 3.5 million Americans aged twelve and older have admitted to the use of heroin. This drug is made from the seed pods of several different varieties of poppies. The main problem with heroin use during pregnancy is that the baby also becomes addicted to the drug. This particular drug goes directly into the placenta; the very place the fetus gets its nutrition. This means that the baby will never have a chance to just say no. He/she will feel the affects of the drug just the same as the mother does. This means that when the baby is born, it will have to go through terrible ordeal of withdrawals. The withdrawal symptoms in