Alcohol and Drug Addiction During Pregnancy

Abstract

Pregnant women need to maintain a healthy lifestyle during their pregnancy to give birth to healthy children. During the 9-month phase, they should consider everything they drink or eat since it also affects the growing baby. While what they ingest is critical to the child's health, pregnant women should avoid taking drugs and alcohol since they can affect the baby's size and metabolic processes and cause lifelong emotional and physical problems. Therefore, in this paper, I conducted research on the impact of drugs and alcohol addiction during pregnancy, especially on the unborn child and treatment options of addicted pregnant women. 

Introduction

Globally, about 5 percent of pregnant women between 19 and 44 years use alcohol and other drugs such as marijuana and cigarettes in their first trimester of their pregnancy (CDC, 2020). Even though the number reduces significantly during the second and the last trimester, pregnant women are warned of taking drugs since they often give birth to 'drug babies,' children having developmental problems. According to research, women who use drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, or misuse, directly inject these drugs to their unborn children since many of these substances easily pass through the placenta. Additionally, these drugs double the risks of stillbirths among these women. 

Since drug and alcohol addiction is harmful to unborn babies, the Center for Disease Control warns that increased drug abuse results in premature births, sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weights, among other birth defects. According to another study conducted between 2018 and 2021, National Institute on Drug Abuse (2021) reports that about 9 percent of pregnant women are alcohol drinkers, and over 5 percent are currently using illicit drugs. 'Drug babies' exhibit seizures, hyperactive reflexes, and blotchy skin colours, among other symptoms, and pregnant addicted women should be subjected to addiction treatment options to reduce the impact of drugs on unborn babies. 

Alcohol Use in Pregnant Women

If one is pregnant or thinking of being one and wants a healthy baby, it is mandatory to avoid alcohol use. Similarly, mothers should also avoid alcohol during breastfeeding. According to research, the use of alcohol on pregnant women increases the chances of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder on unborn babies, which is the known leading cause of developmental disabilities in children (Recovery First Treatment Center, 2021). Even though the impact of alcohol on pregnant women might be a lack of certain vitamins and miscarriage, the possible effect on the fetus is more or less life-threatening. First, alcohol affects the baby's central nervous system. In the third week of pregnancy, a fetus of an addicted mother exhibits abnormal heartbeats and a central nervous system (Bhandari, 2019). As the pregnant mother continues to drink, the fetus's limbs, arms and eyes can be negatively affected. Other critical organs such as the palate and external genitalia can also be impacted by the constant use of alcohol. In the 13 th week during the infant birth process, a pregnant alcoholic mother affects their baby's brains, leading to behavioural, learning, and cognitive effects before birth (Bhandari, 2019). 

According to CDC (2020), babies born by alcoholic mothers before birth are exposed to different syndromes, including fetal alcohol syndrome, alcohol-related neurodevelopment disorders other central nervous system disorders associated with pre-birth alcohol exposure. Children suffering from these syndromes as a result of alcohol addiction suffer from abnormalities of the central nervous system, which could lead to cognitive problems such as the inability to regulate their behaviours. Other symptoms caused by these symptoms include narrow-eye opening, thin upper lips, and the ridge between the upper lip and nose (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2021). Other notable defects include premature birth, low birth weights, stillbirths after 20 weeks of pregnancy and birth defects such as heart issues and hearing problems. 

Drug Addiction During Pregnancy

Pregnant women using marijuana are 2-3 times more likely to incur stillbirth than non-addicted pregnant mothers (Bhandari, 2019). Additionally, prescribed pain relievers, stimulants, and exposure to tobacco, whether active or passive, has the same effects on the unborn child. To mothers, cocaine, for example, increases the chances of miscarriage, abruption of the placenta, seizures, and pulmonary edema, among other problems. These effects will not only be felt by the mother but also by their babies. Cocaine causes a low Apgar score in the fetus or newborn babies. Pregnant women using cocaine increases the fetus's heart rates, breathing and reflex irritability, which reduces their Apgar scores. Additionally, constant use of the drug leads to sudden infant death syndrome, stroke and might possibly lead to deformed urinary organs. Cocaine has such effects, Ecstasy, on the other hand, causes long-term memory and learning problems in the infant. The use of heroin could also lead to small-sized babies, mental development problems, seizures and withdrawal symptoms after birth. Other drugs such as inhalants, methamphetamine, and marijuana are known to cause Leukemia, depression, problems with how bones, tremors, and attention deficit among newborn babies and fetuses. While such drugs greatly impact the child's ability to develop into a healthy adult, other over-the-counter drugs, prescription medicines, and caffeine have the same impact on the child. Since alcohol and other drugs pass through the umbilical cord to the baby, pregnant addicted mothers should take the necessary addiction treatment option to detoxify and decrease abnormalities during childbirth and pregnancy. 

Addiction Treatment Options for Pregnant Women

In the United States, slightly over 17 states have addiction treatment programs for addicted pregnant women (Bhandari, 2019). In many cases, women fear legal issues associated with drug addiction during pregnancy which might lead to the loss of their child. Therefore, it should be noted that any amount of alcohol taken during pregnancy is harmful, and addicted women should take the various treatment options available to protect the lives of their children. 

Today, addicted pregnant women can be inducted into several addiction treatment services such as therapy and counselling, detox services, transitional services, relapse prevention and aftercare services, obstetric and pediatric care services, among others. These treatment services should work with the patients in conjunction with their families to understand their plights since each individual has a unique treatment need. Regardless of their condition, the first line of treatment should always be safe medical detoxification. Since most addiction comes with physical dependence on the drug, sudden stoppage might lead to potentially life-threatening withdrawal symptoms. In alcohol, for example, these symptoms start to manifest after 6-60 hours of withdrawal (Recovery First Treatment Center, 2021). Pregnant women should not conduct detoxification processes without professional help since withdrawal symptoms could be life-threatening to both the mother and the unborn child. Often, the replacement of medication with low-risk factors often proves to be beneficial during detoxification. However, detoxification is not a treatment on its own; rather, other addiction treatment programs follow, which might include but are not limited to a residential treatment plan with constant supervision. 

Conclusion

In this paper, I outlined the problem of addiction among pregnant women and its significance on the health of unborn children and their development during growth in later stages. In as much as constant alcohol and other drug abuse affects pregnant women, its impact on the fetus and newborn babies are worse. In the paper, I deduced through other peer-reviewed papers that alcohol and other drug abuse increase the chances of stillbirths by about three times. Additionally, children born with drug addicts experience learning disabilities, have poor coordination, exhibit low body weights, and contain vision and hearing problems. In this case, they should seek medical attention whereby they will undergo a safe medical detoxication program to reduce the impact of the drug on their unborn children. 

References

Bhandari, S. (2019, August 28). Effects of drugs & alcohol during pregnancy. Retrieved March 17, 2021 from https://www.webmd.com/baby/drug-use-and-pregnancy#1. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, October 8). Alcohol Use in Pregnancy . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/alcohol-use.html.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2021, April 13). Substance Use While Pregnant and Breastfeeding . National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/substance-use-in-women/substance-use-while-pregnant-breastfeeding.

Recovery First Treatment Center. (2021, February 18). What Are the Addiction Treatment Options for Pregnant Woman?  . Recovery First Treatment Center. https://recoveryfirst.org/drug-abuse/treatment-for-pregnant-woman/.