Drugs And Babies Essay

When you think about drugs what do you think of? Most would think of an illegal substance right? When I think about drugs I think about the effects it has on Babies. I work at a preschool by working so close to children it really breaks my heart to see how drugs affects them. It is unfortunate that children have to pay for their parent’s mistakes, let alone babies that are born to drug abusers. Drugs can cause innumerable damage to one’s body. Amongst these drugs are alcohol, meth, cocaine and heroin they can cause many health issues especially on prenatal exposure. Babies can be born with disorders, can be delayed in growth, and can be lacking in cognitive skills.

In fact, alcohol is one of the many predominant drugs. Consuming alcohol while being pregnant can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The alcohol the mother consumes while being pregnant crosses the placenta and damages the developing fetus (langwith 18). This syndrome is one of the most severe forms of a range of disorders. (Langwith 15) There is no cure for this disorder. FAS is the most common preventable cause of mental retardation (Langwith 16). Children born with this disorder may be born premature, have facial abnormalities and have a microcephaly under developed skull. Some long-term consequences are learning behavior delays in development, mental retardation, and emotional problems.

In addition, many people abuse drugs and then suffer the consequences from it yet they still abuse these drugs. Methamphetamine is another drug that can also affect your health immensely. Meth can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate its temperature elevating it to sometimes toxic levels causing Hyperthermia (Weistheit, Willam L.70). Meth can also affect a pregnant wom...

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...orrors and effects of drugs and it harmful consequences. While the younger new generation does not get to see the negative repercussions that drugs have on people’s lives. Since the media does not focus on drugs as much as it had in the past. Some teen’s girl’s even abuse drugs and while under the influence proceed to have sexual intercourse, which develops into them, becoming young mothers. My goal is to inform teens and adults alike on the effects of drugs on the body. People need to understand the magnitude of abusing drugs. Most expectant mothers don’t know the irreparable damage that drugs can do to their unborn child. . They don’t fully comprehend how badly it can harm the development of the fetus. Just as teenagers and mothers alike can’t fathom the effects drugs can have on their lives and their baby’s lives as they ruin their health by using drugs.