A growing issue that continues to go on today is the drug and alcohol abuse by pregnant women. This has become a growing issue due to the fact that pregnancy is starting at a much younger age. Women tend to become pregnant around the age of 15 to 44 (“Birth Data”). In young women among the ages of 18 to 24, the alcohol and tobacco rates were 25.5 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively (Chen). As of 2001, about 12 percent of all pregnant women admitted to consuming alcohol during their pregnancy (Burd). Out of the 4 million or so births in the United States, 64,000 have had high levels of exposure to alcohol while pregnant (Burd). Similarly, teenagers and those in their early adulthood are getting exposed to all different types of drugs. Both of these facts are the leading causes to the increase of drug and alcohol abuse by pregnant women. Another rising issue that is still going on up to this day is whether or not abortion should be legal. Due to the fact that in some states, having an abortion is considered murder; drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy should be dealt with in a similar way. Drug and alcohol use not only makes an impact on the life of the mother but also puts the unborn baby in risk of danger. Drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy has many adverse long term effects on a child and should be punished as a crime.
Illicit drugs such as cocaine and tobacco for example have a negative impact on the development of a fetus. One risk a mother-to-be takes when using cocaine while pregnant is putting their baby at risk of developing cocaine metabolites, meaning cocaine has become necessary for the child’s metabolic process. A woman by the name of Cornelia Whitner, whose child was diagnosed with cocaine metabolites, was ...
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Chen, Wei-Jung A., and Susan E. Maier. "Combination Drug Use and Risk for Fetal Harm." GALE. Government Printing Office, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Meyer, Kurt D., and Lubo Zhang. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 30 July 2005. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.
“Punishing Women for Their Behavior During Pregnancy.” n.d. PDF file. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Tobacco Use and Pregnancy." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Topics in Brief: Prenatal Exposure to Drugs of Abuse." Prenatal Exposure to Drugs of Abuse. National Institute on Drug Abuse May 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Toal, Jean, and Lynn M. Paltrow. “Should a Pregnant Woman Be Punished for Exposing Her Fetus to Risk?” Bioethics. Issue 9. n.d.:144-61. n.d. PDF file. 18 Nov. 2013.
who used cigarettes and alcohol while pregnant and kids who are exposed to high levels of
NAS has turned into an epidemic espicially in the state of Tennessee a little more than 320 babies were born with NAS in 2013. Tennessee was the first state to start keeping track of the number of cases of NAS. NAS occurs when pregnant women take drugs such as heroin, codeine, oxycodone, methadone, or buprenorphine (“Babies are being born addicted to drugs”). This happens when the substances pass through the placenta that connects the baby to its mother. Then the baby becomes dependent on the drug like the mother. Hospitals began treating these cases with morphine, by administering a dosage of morphine every few hours as needed and reducing the dosage until the baby was better. During this process doctors need to keep a look out for the babies since the morphine can cause them to stop breathing. A baby born with NAS usually suffers from low birth weight and respiratory problems. Heroin and cocaine are some of the most common drugs being abused, and they both have short and long term effects other than withdrawal symptoms: Such as ph...
During the late 1970’s a movement began with state prosecutors using child abuse, endangerment statues and charges of provisions of drugs to a minor to prosecute pregnant women who used illicit substances during their pregnancies. The prosecution of a pregnant heroine user in the State of California with a felony child endangerment charge was one of the first of such prosecutions in 1977 (Stone-Manista, 2009, pp.823-856). This was the catalyst for the often biased punishment of pregnant drug addicts under the scope of the law. It is this vein of prosecution that struck ...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggestion that a pregnant woman should not drink alcohol during pregnancy (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy 2005) has been widely criticized as being unnecessarily paternalistic, but the CDC goes further into explaining that, “Alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the risk of alcohol related birth defects, including growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, behavioral disorders, and impaired intellectual development” (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy
Schulman, Joshua M., and David E. Fisher. "Abstract." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 28 Aug. 0005. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a group of problems a newborn experiences when exposed to addictive drugs that the mother consumes during pregnancy. NAS is a growing concern in the United States and can have significant adverse effects on newborns. Shortly after birth, the infant can display many physical symptoms of withdrawal. In addition, substance abuse during pregnancy can cause premature birth, low birth weight, seizures, birth defects, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and possible long-term cognitive and behavioral problems. The 2010 results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings reported incidence of substance abuse among pregnant women within the United States....
Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of developmental and physical birth defects in the United States. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price, in mental and physical deficiencies, for his or her entire life. One study (Phyllis Trujillo Lewis, MA, Philip A. May, PhD, and Virginia C. Shipman, PhD, 2007) asserted that “Numerous studies on alcohol-related birth defects have concluded that maternal drinking, compounded by other risk factors, leads to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is a serious birth defect and the most common non-genetic cause of mental retardation” as said by (Hankin, 2002; Abel & Sokol,1986; O’Connor, Kogan, & Findlay, 2002; May & Gossage, in press). It is unknown how much maternal alcohol consumption results in FAS or other related disorders, or why some women who drink are at substantially higher risk of giving birth to a child with alcohol-related disabilities than others (Stratton, Howe, & Battaglia, 1996). However, researchers have identified several maternal risk factors differentially associated with FAS. These include advanced maternal age, number of pregnancies, previous births of a child with FAS, cohabitation with a male partner who drinks heavily, and low socioeconomic status (SES; May et al. 2004; 2008a; Viljoen et al., 2002). FAS is 100% preventable, which makes awareness and education the core preventative method for FAS. It is seen through Lewis, May & Shipman’s research that women who are less educated are less aware of the risks involved with drinking while pregnant.
One illicit drug that has gone through extensive research is cocaine. Prenatal cocaine exposure has shown to affect the baby physically (defects including eye, bone, genital, urinary tract, kidney, heart deformities, as well as brain hemorrhages) and cognitively (through mental delays, motor, attention, and language problems) (Berk, 2003). Cocaine affects the child subtly but significantly because of what the drug does to the body of both the mother and the growing fetus.
Caplan, A., & Arp, R. (2014). The deliberately induced abortion of a human pregnancy is not justifiable. Contemporary debates in bioethics (pp. 122). Oxford, West Sussex: Wiley.
For the duration of prenatal development, the unborn offspring may be affected by a multiplicity of teratogens, which are different factors which can have negative effects on the fetus, and can even cause birth defects. While there are countless factors that can affect an unborn child, the most commonly seen teratogens that should be avoided by a pregnant woman including alcohol, drugs, and tobacco. The intake and ingestion of alcohol during pregnancy is the cause of a disorder which is fetal alcohol syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome can cause a birth defect which can cause mental and physical disabilities, as well as cardiac defects in the heart for some situations. Some people believe that small amounts of alcohol in moderation can be acceptable, but there are proven facts that show no alcohol should be consumed during any time of pregnancy. Another dangerous teratogen to refrain from is the use of drugs, prescription and illegal. Many kinds of prescription drugs can influence a fetus and can cause physical and
The addicted individuals need to be aware of the services that are available for them and their children during and after their addictive stages. The abuse that some of these children endure can start at the earliest stages of their lives. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome begins to effect the child while it is still in its mother’s womb. This disease not only effects the child physically, but emotionally and intellectually. Many parents continue to abuse substances while they are knowingly pregnant.
In 2006, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were reported unintended on a national survey.1 The highest rate of preventable birth defects and mental retardation is due to alcohol use.2 In this paper, I will further discuss FAS, the potential effects of binge drinking during the embryonic stage of gestation, and what actions need to be taken in order to reduce the incidences of alcohol-related birth defects. Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Alcohol is an ethanol containing substance that is a common beverage in many social and private settings. Alcohol is also a teratogen, therefore alcohol consumption and binge drinking potentially pose a substantial risk to the embryo or fetus. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control conducted a telephone survey of women in the age range of 18-44 years regarding alcohol use.3
Thomson recognizes that this thought experiment has a very limited application – specifically to those instances where a pregnancy is the result of coercion or violence. In the sec...
If one does not incur an illness, their child may due to the parent’s drug abuse. Drugs can affect even the unborn baby. They can change the very structure of a man’s sperm, causing him to become sterile or give an egg a diseased sperm. “A pregnant woman who regularly smokes marijuana or hashish may/could give birth prematurely to an undersized, underweight baby,”– (Drug-Free World #1). A baby born in spite of all of these conditio...
Chambers, C. D., Polifka, J. E., & Friedman, J. M. (2008). Drug safety in pregnant women and their babies: ignorance not bliss. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 83(1), 181-183.