Pregnancy is considered as a period by which women are much vulnerable to different health problems. In the United States, a significant number of pregnant women are considered to use prescribed or common drugs. This paper evaluates the significance and impact of using drugs during pregnancy. The paper also provides intervention measures that can be put in place to ensure the safety of the unborn child is well protected from drug abuse during pregnancy.
The drug abuse during pregnancy has significant impacts on the health of both the woman and the unborn child. The abuse of alcohol by a pregnant woman has adverse effects that are associated with negative birth outcomes. Some of the effects of alcohol abuse during pregnancy include the risk of pregnancy, miscarriage increases, infant mortality, stillbirth, the birthweights of the child become low, the woman experience preterm delivery, and reduced gestational age. The abuse of alcohol during pregnancy also has adverse effects on unborn health, which is related to the development of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. There are also long term effects that are associated with alcohol abuse during pregnancy. Some of them include behavioral and cognitive challenges; language challenges for the child, the child may experience functioning executive deficits, and in adulthood may experience psychosocial consequences.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
There are also adverse effects on birth outcomes associated with smoking during pregnancy. They include the structure of the umbilical cord damage, high possibility of miscarriage, high risk of ectopic pregnancy, high possibility of low birthweight, abruption of the placenta and increased risk of infant mortality (Forray, 2016). The pregnant women with a high rate of smoking also cause adverse effects on the newborns including the child experiencing a high rate of respiratory and ear infections, the child experiences high rate of behavioral dysfunction and cognitive consequences, and it intensifies the possibility of unexpected infant death disorder.
The other drug that is considered to have deleterious effects when abused during pregnancy is cannabis. Some women that are pregnant, think that cannabis does not have any impact on their health unborn child or their health. However, several; researches have indicated that the abuse of cannabis during pregnancy may cause preterm labor, child born with low weight, small-for-gestational-age, and increases the risk of the newborn being admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (Forray, 2016). Heavy users of cannabis during pregnancy also create the possibility of long-term effects for their children, including the child experiencing reduced functioning skills and attention, low brain development, poor performance in academic settings, and difficulties in other cognitive and behavioral settings.
The abuse of opioid and cocaine during pregnancy has adverse effects on the health of pregnant women and their unborn child. According to recent research studies, the drugs are correlated with high risks of low birthweights, high risk of premature rupture of membranes, increased the possibility of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), and placental abruption (Forray, 2016). Opioid and cocaine during pregnancy are also associated with developmental and behavioral conveniences of the child, high risk of gestational hypertension, and sudden infant death syndrome.
The effects of abusing drugs by pregnant women can be ascertained by various statistics from different research studies that have been conducted previously. According to the United States National Survey on Drugs Use and Health data, the prevalence of marijuana use among pregnant women in the U.S. has increased from 2.37% in 2002 to 3.85% in 2014. Cannabis use during pregnancy was identified to have a 50% increase in the possibility of low birth weight. The study indicates that most women who are associated with significant abuse of cannabis during pregnancy are those with younger age, those in poverty status, lower education level, and those that are in an unmarried state (Marijuana Use During Pregnancy, 2018). The abuse of alcohol by pregnant women causes the risk of the newborn to develop a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, including fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Most cases that have been reported concerning growth deficiency and developmental disabilities indicate that the mother of the child had a prevalence of 1.5% of alcohol during pregnancy (Metz, Köchl, & Fischer, 2012). Several research reports indicate that the abuse and dependence of opioids during pregnancy affects 55-94% of the newborns in terms of low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, and premature birth.
According to the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), the nurses should have enough knowledge concerning child abuse related to drug abuse of pregnant women. The position held by the nurses is that there should be policies in place to help them encounter the issue of drug abuse by pregnant women. AWHONN point out that laws that decriminalize drug abuse during pregnancy are considered to deter women that have drug abuse issues from access to prenatal and maternity care, which provides appropriate counseling, monitoring, and referral. Criminal penalties such as loss of custody, incarceration, and involuntary commitment should be avoided to allow pregnant women with drug abuse to access health care (Marijuana Use During Pregnancy, 2018). AWHONN is, however, in support of the legislation, initiatives, and policies that enhance the awareness of drug abuse during pregnancy, help in removing stigma, and encourage pregnant women with drug abuse issues access to prenatal and maternity care. Some of the initiatives that are encouraged by the nursing community to encounter drug abuse during pregnancy include public health campaigns, insurance coverage, and better access to intermediations for the use of the drugs. The nurses also advocate for the development of community networks and community-based partnerships that can provide care to pregnant women. The public health campaigns should incoporate connecting with pregnant women, especially those in risk communities by helping them understand better about the effects of drug abuse during pregnancy on the mother, fetus, and newborns.
The importance of protecting pregnant women from drug abuse is much important for the women, the newborn, and the country at large. Therefore, policies should be developed to address the problem of substance abuse during pregnancy. Pregnant women drug abuse develops a financial burden to the states as it drives up the amount of money spend on obstetrical and neonatal care. Furthermore, the financial cost is also high when handling complications and health issues for the children born by drug abuse mothers. Other expenses are as a result of interventions that are conducted for children that have a high risk of abuse, neglect, and abandonment by their drug abuse mothers.
Possible policies that can be enforced to reduce the costs, and protect both pregnant women and the fetus from being affected by maternal substance use include prosecutorial strategies where a pregnant woman is prosecuted for drug abuse as she endangers the life of the unborn and her own. The woman is considered to committed crimes such as child abuse, manslaughter, and child neglect when she abuses drugs when pregnant (Lester, Andreozzi, & Appiah, 2004). The other policy is the use of involuntary detention, where pregnant women that abuse drugs are detailed to be provided with rehabilitation and education concerning the protection of the infant. It is also important to provide a policy that supports testing, reporting, and identification of pregnant women that are suspected to abuse drugs. The states should fund toxicology screening and developed authorities that would be handling cases of pregnant women identified to abuse drugs.
In conclusion, drug abuse problem during pregnancy remains a substantial public health problem that causes adverse impacts of maternal and neonatal outcomes. When developing interventions and policies, factors associated with environmental stressors, prenatal care, and psychiatric comorbidity should be considered. With well-timed medical care interventions, some of the drug abuse pregnant related issues can be easily avoided and help drug-addicted women avoid using drugs during pregnancy.
References
Forray A. (2016). Substance use during pregnancy. F1000Research , 5, F1000 Faculty Rev-887. doi:10.12688/f1000research.7645.1
Marijuana Use During Pregnancy. (2018). Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing , Volume 47, Issue 5, 719 – 721. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2018.07.005
Metz, V., Köchl, B., & Fischer, G. (2012). Should pregnant women with substance use disorders be managed differently? Neuropsychiatry , 2(1), 29–41. doi:10.2217/npy.11.74
Lester, B. M., Andreozzi, L., & Appiah, L. (2004). Substance use during pregnancy: time for policy to catch up with research. Harm reduction journal , 1(1), 5. doi:10.1186/1477-7517-1-5
