Causes Of Substance Abuse During Pregnancy Essay

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More than ten percent of pregnant women drink (Is it Illegal). How can people prevent disorders and other problems caused by substance abuse during pregnancy? By requiring mothers to pay fines and go to rehab if the test positive for substances, babies’ lives could be altered in a positive way. In this essay, things going to be discussed are; why substance abuse during pregnancy is a problem, how bills have been proposed, but never passed, and how fines and rehab can be beneficial for these mothers. Living with a disorder can be very difficult, but can be prevented if actions are taken. Babies can develop disorders if they are exposed to alcohol and other substances while in the womb. Exposure to maternal drinking during early …show more content…

The new solution being proposed is, when a mother goes to her obstetrician/gynecologist for a check-up, she has a drug test performed. If she test positive for the first time, she pays a fifty dollar fine and is obligated to attend a weekly two hour rehabilitation program. If they test positive a second time, the fine is doubled and she attends a twice-weekly rehabilitation program. The mother is admitted to a rehabilitation facility and the fine of two-hundred dollars is paid if she still tests positive. A mother’s child could be taken away at birth, depending on the opinion her doctor, if she manages to test positive a fourth time. The baby may already be very ill and have to go into the neonatal intensive care unit in the meantime. The child could also go through withdrawal, which could potentially be fatal, since nicotine can stay in their system for many days (Cocaine/Crack). Some people do drugs because they to escape reality or they are depressed, so they could also be offered counselling for that as well (Cocaine/Crack). This will be effective because the mothers will be able to overcome the addiction if they are obligated to go to rehabilitation and will not want to pay fines. This method has shown to be effective in other drug addicts that are not

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