The Consequences of Drug Abuse and Pregnancy
One of the most heartbreaking things in the world is when a baby is born addicted to drugs.
The babies then experience withdrawals and must be hospitalized.
The drugs are transported into the infant’s system through the umbilical cord and the child is born with physical and mental drug dependencies.
The physical effects can start as soon as the first 24 hours and last up to six months. The mental aspect can last a lifetime.
Infants born addicted to opiates suffer from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and come into this world crying for opiates.
Babies experience withdrawal symptoms such as tremors, diarrhea, fever, irritability, seizures, difficulty breathing, difficulty feeding, color change, hiccupping, fast breathing, blotchy skin, sweating, stuffy nose and trouble sleeping.
As if that weren’t terrifying enough, the more severe side effects of using opiates during pregnancy can include low birth weight, premature labor, fetal death or miscarriage.
Babies born with NAS must endure extended hospital stays where they are weaned off the opiates with buprenorphine and methadone.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, in 2012, every 25 minutes a child was born suffering from opiate withdrawals, and in 2013, six out of every one thousand newborns arrived into this world with NAS. NIDA also reported that in 2017, 8.5% of babies born had illicit substances in their systems.
Using opiates during pregnancy takes a drastic toll on the infant, but it’s not only opiates which affect a child; alcohol also has a severe impact on a baby. Alcohol can cause children to have a small head size, abnormal facial features, problems with vision or hearing, low body weight, shorter than average height, poor coordination, problems with sleeping, and heart, kidney, or bone problems.
NBC reported that the US spends around $60,000 per child in medical treatment expenses for infants born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
Substances like coke, crack, meth, cigarettes, and benzodiazepines can cause impaired growth, birth defects and altered brain development. Additionally, tobacco has become the number one substance abused during pregnancy with NIDA reporting that 14.7% of women have used tobacco while bearing a child. Many of the same side effects that are caused by using alcohol are the same for tobacco.
Side effects from using substances during pregnancy are not only limited to short term withdrawals after birth; many children born with neonatal abstinence syndrome have behavioral problems, language issues and problems with cognition that affect them for life.
The go-to treatment for pregnant women who are addicted to opiates is the methadone program and the downside in doing so is that the mother and child are now physically addicted to the methadone. Babies born addicted to methadone need extended hospital stays to safely wean them off the drug.
The best-case scenario would be to get treatment for substance abuse before anyone has to go down that road.
If you need help, please contact me at Narconon New Life Retreat—a holistic approach to substance abuse.
Resources:
https://teens.drugabuse.gov/blog/post/are-some-babies-born-addicted