One of the topics that social workers covered in our foster care training classes was the affect of drugs and alcohol on the newborn.
If a mother has used just prior to giving birth, the baby is born high. Depending on the drug, how much was used, as well as how often, the newborn can remain high from a few days up to several months. After the high wears off the baby goes through drug withdrawals.
One of the interesting facts we learned was about cocaine. When a mother takes a hit of cocaine the chemical crosses the placental barrier and becomes a new drug called norcocaine. Norcocaine is 9 times as powerful as the original hit!
You can read about how alcohol and drugs affect the newborn here.
Resources American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/ajog/abstract.00000447-199505000-00012.htm;jsessionid=
GpmLLp0SphqCxVbZCgP1qJ404y2hjNgSNl3bJpY3JHftSJmHgjmv!-1734750035!-949856144!8091!-1
This article is linked to Adoption Options ~ Our Journey Through Foster Care Part III, Training Classes |
Jul. 6, 2006
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A new drug
"Of all the substances of abuse, including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus." -Institute of Medicine 1996 Report to Congress
Alcohol permanently damages the nerve cells of the developing fetus. Estimates by the Center for Disease control indicate that in the US, about 1 in 1000 children are born each year with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Children that have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and do not meet the criteria for FAS can still have learning and behavior problems, attention deficits, impulsiveness, and poor organizational skills directly related to alcohol's effects on the developing brain. It is thought that these "milder" symptoms occur in as many as 1 in 100 births. I put milder in quotations, because the researth on these children demonstrate that because their problems often go undetected, they are misunderstood and mismanaged and actually have a worse outcome as adults.