Outcome Of Illegal Drug-Use During Pregnancy

The condition of a woman or female that is going to have a baby or babies is called pregnancy according to Merriam-webster dictionary. During this stage in a woman’s life, the most adequate care of the body is imperative to enable safe delivery and curtail the risk of an unhealthy child.

The use of substances at pre-natal stages is an extreme public health problem that is related to several harmful and maternal repercussions. Most abused substances include tobacco, followed by alcohol, cannabis, and other hard drugs.

The side effects of these drugs on a fetus are quite devastating. Unfortunately, many women of childbearing age use some form of illegal drugs.

The use of illegal drugs by a mother catalyzes the risk of anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted diseases among other diseases. Because almost all drugs used by the mother are transferred to the fetus, the harmful substance can cause drug dependence and addiction to the baby as well as the mother.

Laboratory tests like chromatography that entail the assessment of the woman’s urine sample to find hard drugs like cannabis, tobacco, and others can cross the placenta. Drugs used during pregnancy period can be linked to cognitive and behavioral problems in the child or children. Cocaine especially can cause preterm delivery of the fetus, miscarriage, premature detachment of the placenta, high blood pressure, and even stillborn. Children with cocaine-using mothers are most likely to have an increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and low birth weight.

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Other effects of hard drugs on a baby may include hyperactivity, behavioral problems, learning problems, and growth defects.

Using drugs like dextroamphetamine and methamphetamine exposes the mother to miscarriage and preterm births while infants exposed to these drugs in the fetus have the risk of mild insomnia, jitteriness, withdrawals, and feeding problems. They also have a higher risk of SIDS.

Heroin and other opiate substances expose the infants to significant withdrawal and panes ( respiration stoppage or ceasing) and feeding difficulties.

Research carried out in the united state of America shows that the intake of alcohol during pregnancy have been observed to have caused many negative birth outcomes with infant mortality, stillbirth, and miscarriages. The infant also exhibits low birth weight, reduced gestational age, and small-for-gestational-age. The observations of moderate alcohol intake pregnancy have shown little or no increase in fatal pregnancy substance outcomes. Alcohol intake during pregnancy has given rise to fatal health effects and is strongly related to the emergence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and fatal neurodevelopmental outcomes. Newborns are also said to exhibit speech and language disorders and negative psychosocial effects in adulthood.

Smoking during pregnancy causes direct and fatal consequences which include damage to unbiblical cord structure, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, placenta abduction, and a high rate of infant mortality. Also of great concern are deleterious health effects of secondhand smoke on newly born which gives rise to ear and respiratory infections, sudden infant death syndrome, and behaviourallaborbehavioral dysfunctions.

Some women in pregnancy stages have the perception of cannabis as harmless, although it has been linked with so many fatal conditions that include: preterm labour, low birth weight, and admission into the neonatal intensive care unit. It has also been suspected of the growth of fatal and adolescent brains, reduced attention, and poorer academic development.

Harmful drugs to be avoided during pregnancy are:

• Cannabis
• Cocaine
• Tobacco
• Isotretinoin (an acne drug)
• High dose of vitamin A
• Lithium
• Male hormones
• Some antibiotics
• Thalidomide etc.

Currently, Tennessee is the only state in the united state of America that sees the intake of harmful substances during pregnancy as a criminal act of child abuse and neglect

References

• Organization of Teratology Information Services, https://otispregnancy.org/
• Motherisk.org, https://www.motherisk.org/
• American Council for Drug Education,
• https://www.acde.org/
• March of Dimes, https://www.marchofdimes.org/
• The Alan Guttmacher Institute, https://www.guttmacher.org/

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