Babies Born Addicted Did you know that people use drugs on a daily basis, specifically pregnant women? This has been a problem since the 1980s. According to Stephen Davis, a news reporter from Fox6Now, up to 13,000 babies a year are born addicted to drugs (Davis 1). Pregnant women are using drugs and their young ones are coming out addicted and unhealthy. Cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine are some of the common drugs used by pregnant women. Babies born to drug using mothers are commonly affected by small heads, addiction, and many other birth defects. There has been a rise in number of cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome are visual auditory and cognitive dysfunctions. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
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Cocaine use during pregnancy can cause placental abruption, which can lead to severe bleeding, preterm birth, and fetal death. Mothers who use marijuana during gestation have children at higher risk for depression during childhood. Marijuana smoke is like a cigarette smoke which contains toxins that keeps the baby from getting the proper supply of oxygen that the baby needs. Marijuana abuse by a pregnant mother can cause the mother to have a miscarriage, low birth weight, premature births, developmental delays, along with behavioral and learning problems ("Drug Use and Pregnancy." 1). Mothers who abuse illicit drugs have children who have higher rates of behavioral problems including difficulty to change environment, temperament, and anger. “Children exposed to cocaine and alcohol have proportionately decreased gross motor functioning scores on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales as alcohol exposure increases” (Datta 412). Children of drug abusing mothers typically have attention deficit problems that linger long into their childhood and may even follow into their adult lives (Datta 411). Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome can affect the development of a child long after birth. The complications associated with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome are significant and laws should be better enforced to prevent this
Cocaine use during pregnancy can cause placental abruption, which can lead to severe bleeding, preterm birth, and fetal death. Mothers who use marijuana during gestation have children at higher risk for depression during childhood. Marijuana smoke is like a cigarette smoke which contains toxins that keeps the baby from getting the proper supply of oxygen that the baby needs. Marijuana abuse by a pregnant mother can cause the mother to have a miscarriage, low birth weight, premature births, developmental delays, along with behavioral and learning problems ("Drug Use and Pregnancy." 1). Mothers who abuse illicit drugs have children who have higher rates of behavioral problems including difficulty to change environment, temperament, and anger. “Children exposed to cocaine and alcohol have proportionately decreased gross motor functioning scores on the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales as alcohol exposure increases” (Datta 412). Children of drug abusing mothers typically have attention deficit problems that linger long into their childhood and may even follow into their adult lives (Datta 411). Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome can affect the development of a child long after birth. The complications associated with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome are significant and laws should be better enforced to prevent this