...Maternal Substance Abuse During Pregnancy The choice to use drugs is just that—a choice. Pregnant women who make the conscientious decision to abuse substances shall realize that when they chose to use drugs, they assumed responsibility for the natural consequences and shall be held accountable for their own actions by law. It is fair to assume that the mother also made a choice to be sexually active, allowing the opportunity to become pregnant; and, regardless of whether or not she planned the pregnancy, she allowed the pregnancy to come to term. “Children, like all people, have the right to be free from having drugs introduced into their systems by others,” (Merrick, 1993). For the reason of choice and this reason, the rights to freedom, there shall be criminal penalties for mothers who give birth to substance-exposed infants. Janna Merrick (1993) accurately stated that, “pregnancy is unlike any other medical condition in that care must be provided simultaneously for both the woman and the fetus.” Because a fetus is unable to protect or fend for itself prior to birth, it becomes the mother's obligation to do so for their unborn child. Mother’s that are unable to properly care for their child in utero are clearly unfit mothers from the very start; and, adding any form of substance abuse to that mix only puts the child at greater risk for medical complications and suffering post delivery. If, as a society, we work to reduce the incidence of maternal substance abuse by prosecution...
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...The Effects of Maternal Substance Abuse on Infants Casey A. Burns Oklahoma City University The Effects of Maternal Substance Abuse on Infants Substance abuse is a topic that is encountered in our world everyday. Drinking and doing drugs are recreational activities that many people choose to participate in on a regular basis. What most people do not understand is that if you drink and do drugs while pregnant, then the fetus is essentially drinking and doing drugs as well. This is because the majority of anything the mother injests crosses the placental and hematoencephalic barrier with out being metabolised first which in turn affects, primarily, the central nervous system of the unborn fetus (Kassada, Marcon, Pagliarini, Rossi,...
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...Substance Abuse in Adolescents Seana Benham Grand Canyon University Nursing 427 Concepts in Community and Public Health November5, 2015 Prevalence of substance abuse among youth In 2013, the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey revealed than an estimated 16.6 percent of Colorado high school youth reported binge drinking, 10.7 percent reported cigarette smoking, and 19.7 percent reported marijuana use in the 30 days prior to the survey. As many as 13.6 percent abused prescription drugs at some point in their lives. Of note, the 2013 prevalence of Colorado high school youth ever having used other illicit drugs ranged between 2.7 percent for heroin and 7.3 percent for inhalants. Methamphetamine use was reported as 3.2 percent; cocaine, 5.8 percent; and Ecstasy, 6.7 percent. (Maternal and Child Health Issue Brief, 2014). According to Maternal Health and Child Health issue brief (2014), the prevalence of binge drinking, cigarette smoking, and marijuana use are substantially lower among middle school youth compared to high school youth. What contributes to substance abuse among youth? Substance abuse among youth is a complex issue with many potentially contributing factors that might include an individual’s peer influence, an individual’s biology, family and peer influence, and the social context in which use occurs (Newcomb; M et al. 2009). Family and peer influences can be influential towards substance use or abuse; familial risk factors that influence substance abuse include...
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...Drug Abuse and its Effects Introduction Drug abuse is a malaise that the U.S. has been fighting since a long time and still has a long way to go, whether it is the youth or the elderly, people from all age groups, all ethnicities and races, all regions and religions, seems to be afflicted with the enigma that is drug abuse. Internationally, over 200 million people chomp through some type of illicit drugs. From ordinary bhaang, Cannabis, opium to artificial “designer” drugs like ecstasy or MDMA, barbiturate derivatives, benzodiazepines like alprazolam, diazepam, amphetamines, Phenethylamine and Tryptamine derivatives; different forms of drugs are available for inducing excitation or jubilation. What is Drug Abuse Drug abuse is unprovoked, decorative utilization of any usual or synthetic substance or drug in an unapproved amount for performance augmentation and psychosomatic effect for non-therapeutic, non-medical use by an individual with methods neither approved nor supervised by medical professionals. The society as a whole has been at the suffering end of this habit for a long time. Drug abuse has made such deeper inlays in our lives that there seems to be no end to this menace. Drug abuse is a major public health problem that impacts society on multiple levels. Directly or indirectly, every community is affected by drug abuse and addiction, as is every family. Drugs take a tremendous toll on our society at many levels. People who use drugs incident a wide array...
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...Evidence Based Practice: Nursing Care of Infants Affected by Heroin Abuse Christina Anderson Cochise College Lisa Benson February 16, 2011 Evidence Based Practice: Nursing Care of Infants Affected by Heroin Abuse According to Wang (2010), the prevalence of prenatally exposed newborns to one or more illicit drugs averages approximately 5.5 percent. Substance abuse during pregnancy can negatively affect the fetus and neonate. According to the National Drug Intelligence Center (n.d.), heroin is a highly addictive and rapidly acting opiate that is produced from morphine. According to Murray & McKinney (2010), the signs and symptoms observed in the neonate will be different depending on the type of drug used by the mother, but common signs seen in a neonate experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome include: irritability, jitteriness, diarrhea, frequent regurgitation, and tachypnea. In cases where heroin is used, these signs and symptoms most commonly become apparent 1 and 144 hours after birth, and may last from 7 to 20 days (Cloherty, Eichenwald, & Stark, 2008). Nursing Diagnosis An appropriate nursing diagnosis for an infant experiencing withdrawal from heroin would be disturbed sensory perception related to altered sensory reception as manifested by irritability, jitteriness, and restlessness (Ackley & Ladwig, 2008; Cloherty, et al., 2008). This disturbed sensory perception could exacerbate the infant’s already increased heart rate, respiratory rate, and fluid loss...
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...Impact and Relationship of Substance Abuse and Child Maltreatment: Risk and Resiliency Factors What Research Tells Us Martha Morrison Dore, Ph.D. Columbia University School of Social Work 622 West 113th Street New York, New York 10027 212/854-5461 Paper prepared for presentation at the conference entitled “Protecting Children in Substance Abusing Families,” September 28, 1998, sponsored by the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota School of Social Work, Minneapolis, MN. Researchers are just beginning to demonstrate empirically what child protective services workers have been observing for nearly two decades now: many, if not most, families who come to the attention of the child welfare system are involved with drugs or alcohol or both. Founded cases of child abuse and neglect have risen exponentially since the mid-1980s, when the crack form of cocaine, a cheap, easily used form of the drug, became widely available. Studies conducted since that time have identified substance abuse as a contributing factor in 40% to 80% of substantiated cases of child maltreatment (Curtis & McCullough, 1993; Magura & Laudet, 1996; Murphy, Jellinek, Quinn, Smith, Poitrast, & Goshko, 1991). Further, studies of substance abusing parents have found child-rearing beliefs and attitudes that heighten risk for child abuse (Williams-Peterson et al., 1994), as well as elevated rates of first-time reports to child protective services (Jaudes & Ekwo, 1995), re-reports...
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...Global Health Implementing effective global health programs is a difficult task as there are complex issues involved. These issues arise from the distinctive barriers that exist in poor communities as well as from the fundamental complexity of the health care field. Despite efforts made to improve the global health, there are some barriers faced majorly in developing countries which can be grouped into two broad categories: infrastructural barriers and patients behavior. According to Dr. Manchanda’s book titled “the upstream doctors”, effective care for most illness requires understanding the social conditions of one’s patients, and this is true because patients are faced with various limitations that deter them from accessing good medical services. Fear, finance, cultural belief, distance to Health Centre or Hospitals, lack of awareness about treatment availability and benefits, and poor health outcome after treatment, are some of the major contributory factors that deter patients from accessing good medical services, thus, causing a decline in health status globally. Poverty is also a contributory factor especially in developing countries. This can be explained in patient’s inability to purchase drugs or hesitancy to seek proper medical attention due to lack of funds. These barriers can be tackled using the holistic response that includes both social and cultural approach. The means to achieve success is to involve local health care professionals, experienced health workers...
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...clinical signs correlated with opioid withdrawal that usually manifests as neurological excitability, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and autonomic over reactivity (3). Throughout the past decade, there has been rising public health, medical, and political devotion disbursed to the parallel growth in two developments: an escalation in the prevalence of prescription opioid abuse and an escalation in the incidence of NAS. The diagnosis of NAS has increased from 1.20 births 1,000 hospitals births in 2009 to 3.39 births per 1,000 hospitals births in 2009. To put this this number into context, this means 1 infant born every hour the United states had signs of drug withdrawal. Furthermore, maternal substance abuse has increased over the past decade. About 5-10 percent of deliveries nationwide are to women abused substances during pregnancy. The incidence is even higher in inner cities. The two trends are likely intertwined, but many questions remain about the nature of the NAS “epidemic” and how best approach this problem. However, in order to understand the magnitude of this problem, it is vital that NAS is examined in public health, economical and medical viewpoint. This way healthcare providers will become aware of the rapidly rising rates of NAS and drug use among pregnant women and treat affected individuals properly and minimize the utilization of...
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...Pregnant Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy: Should They Be Prosecuted? English Composition I June 3, 2012 What are the long-term effects on children who were drug exposed in utero? Are criminal charges for child abuse the best solution for pregnant mothers who use illicit drugs during pregnancy? This is a question that has become a hot topic and cause for controversy among the medical community, legal community, and society in general over the last 20 years. For example, South Carolina has defended their actions in the criminal convictions of women charged with child abuse for using drugs, such as crack cocaine, during pregnancy, while states like Wisconsin and South Dakota have taken less drastic measures. Almost all states agree that some sort of action needs to be taken to protect unborn children, but what those actions should be are widely varied and debated. Although personal feelings and emotions often lead us to immediately draw one conclusion; thorough research and doing what is best for women, children and their families are a strong argument for looking at other alternatives to this problem. South Carolina has long been at the forefront of the movement to criminalize prenatal substance abuse, using a broad range of laws to enforce a policy that began at one or two hospitals in the state and, over time, has expanded to a statewide initiative [Contemporary Women’s Issues] 1998. However, states such as Wisconsin are wrestling with when the criminal...
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...LAW AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE MOTHERS 4 THEORIES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE 6 Biological Theories 6 Genetic Factors 6 Metabolic Imbalance 7 THEORECTICAL PERSPECTIVE 8 MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT 10 SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 11 EXPECTED RESULTS/TIMEFRAME 12 CONCLUSION 13 REFERENCES 14 PICTURES ILLUSTRATING PREGNANT SUBSTANCE ABUSE WOMEN AND FETUS 15 INTRODUCTION Social problems exist at the door step of every community it has been in existence decades ago and still lives on today. Social problems can be defined as an issue that relates to society’s perception of an individual’s personal life and their behaviour is considered to be out of the norm. Substance abuse has vast becoming an epidemic in today’s society and it is considered as a social problem. Substance abuse is one thing but to see pregnant women abusing these endangering substances is another issue. People use drugs for many different reasons but for a pregnant woman to use drugs she may be mentally ill or depressed. Substance abuse may not have a serious or long-lasting effect on you but the same is not always true for a foetus. Mothers that abuse substances give birth to "drug babies." These children have serious developmental problems. Researches show that using substances legal or illegal during pregnancy has a direct impact on the foetus, whether smoking, consumption of alcohol, or ingesting caffeine. If you use marijuana or cocaine, your foetus also feels the impact of these dangerous drugs. If you are addicted...
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...Home Medicine Diet & Fitness Family & Parenting Love & Relationships Mental Health Policy & Industry Viewpoint Drugs Updated Guidelines for Treating Babies Exposed to Drugs in the Womb By Maia Szalavitz | @maiasz | January 30, 2012 | 2 inShare.15 Jade Brookbank / Getty Images The question of how best to help babies who have been exposed to drugs in the womb — including prescription pain medications, antidepressants and illicit drugs like methamphetamine and cocaine — can be an emotionally charged issue. Bringing science to bear on the issue, the American Academy of Pediatrics has just updated its guidelines on treating these infants. The number of babies experiencing drug-related symptoms after birth has risen by 45% since 1995, according to data compiled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The rise may be attributed in part to increased maternal drug misuse and addiction, as well as to greater legitimate use of medication to treat pain and depression. Further, more careful surveillance for symptoms associated with maternal drug use have turned up more affected babies. About 1% of pregnant women report recreational use of opioid painkillers like Oxycontin, according to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, a number that has stayed constant since 2003. The new treatment guidelines, appearing on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, recommend that pregnant women addicted to prescription...
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...* CHRONOLOGY * * Second Trimester * * Mother attended her community drug and alcohol team (CDAT) were she was on a methadone programme. Referral was made by her key worker stated concerns that she may be pregnant and concealing it * * Pre - birth conference was held to establish the issues surrounding the mother, her pregnancy and her parenting skills. Mother did not attend. The pre – birth conference attended by the CDAT key worker, safeguarding midwife, health visitor, GP, social worker. The pre – birth conference took place as mum was concealing her pregnancy and that she was heavily * * DAY 1 Jack was born by caesarean section because they were concerns with the Zoe. Zoe was unwell – she had a heart valve problem. Jack was admitted to the intensive care unit, needing ventilation support for six hours 12pm * Safeguarding midwife aware that Jack been born, states that all people who needed to be aware of baby being born are. Informed us that her current partner and father of baby are not allowed to visit. Security, front desk at the main entrance of unit and nurses made aware * Urine virology/toxicology sent * Morphine started as Jack was Ventilated due to the respiratory distress 15pm * Out of hours social worker called inquiring about baby and mum 1630pm * Maternity support worker visited unit, updated on baby’s condition. Mum had her surgery – she will go and update mum 1830pm * Nurse looking after mum on...
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...I Population Defined This paper will cover briefly a multidimensional analysis of pregnant women and cocaine use. This paper will explore how women, particularly pregnant women can be challenged by cocaine use. There will be A review of the literature and policies that impact this population. In history, women have been making strides against oppression and discrimination in health, social welfare, policy and many other areas of life (Eisenberg,1998). For purposes of this paper, inner urban cities will be discussed as it impacts pregnant women. To date, gender and issues of equality remain at the forefront. Advocacy organizations like Planned Parenthood, advocate for reproductive health care for women. Certain cultural practices, prohibit...
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... There are certain risk factors that have a bearing on social inequalities in health, and particularly those that are prone to preventative intervention. There are many that I could talk about, but I have picked out four of these factors to talk about. They are biological factors, family and social factors, parenting factors, and attachment. Even these I feel that I will not be able to cover completely, because there is only a certain part we see, and then there is the that is kept hidden from all. There are many factors that influence the development and social inequalities in a child’s life. These include biological, family and social factors, parenting factors, attachment, and the way non-maternal care is influenced. All of these are risk factors that are likely to have a bearing on the child’s social inequalities on their health. The biological factors include premature birth, low birth weight, and a serious medical illness. The significantly influence and infants growth. “Low birth weight, less than 2500 grams, has a prevalence of 6 percent in white middle-class U.S. women, and 15 percent in ethnic minority teenagers. These teenagers tend to be single mothers.” At the Infant Health and Development Project, they found that in a large amount of premature infants, that their IQ was less than 85 at three years of age. Race was the greatest factor in predicting outcome, that was followed by maternal education, and then medical complications. The infants of poorly educated African...
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...Prenatal Substance Abuse Effects on the Exposed Fetus Substance abuse during pregnancy has become a significant problem worldwide. Studies show that drugs taken by a pregnant woman can cause many short and long term health risks to the fetus. The substance reach the fetus primarily by crossing the placenta, the same route taken by oxygen and nutrients, which are needed for the fetus growth and development. Drugs that a pregnant woman takes during pregnancy can cause direct impact to the fetus. Prenatal drug exposure increases the risk of giving birth to babies with developmental delays. Women who use alcohol, cocaine or tobacco when they are pregnant may have brain structure changes that persis into early adolescence. The negative effects...
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