Karen Grewen and a team of other scholars joined forces to examine the impacts of prenatal cocaine exposure on the brain development of infants. They examined three groups of infants. Some of these infants had been exposed to cocaine while in the womb. The purpose of the examination was to establish if there were any differences in the brain structure of the infants in the different groups. Their findings are both surprising and a confirmation of what is known about the effects of harmful substances on brain development. They observed that the infants who had been exposed to cocaine suffered structural deficits in such areas of the brain as the frontal and prefrontal regions. These regions are responsible for inhibitory control and executive function. While Grewen and her team do not state that the deficits result in behavioral and developmental challenges, this conclusion can be made based on their findings.
One of the topics that the course text addresses is the impact that drugs have on brain development and overall health. The text makes it clear that various drugs leave scars that may never heal. In the text, the author, Kathleen Stassen Berger focuses on adolescents and the impacts of drugs on their lives. She notes that adolescents who consume dangerous drugs place their lives at great risk (Berger, 2017). Many suffer developmental difficulties. She adds that most of those who consume drugs become addicts. Addiction makes it extremely difficult for these individuals to abandon their drug habits. Berger essentially echoes the concerns that Grewen and her team issue in their article. As noted above, Grewen and her colleagues warn that infants who are exposed to cocaine while in the womb could develop brain deficits. These deficits manifest in the form of behavioral and developmental challenges. Both Grewen and her team and Berger aim to warn their readers about the detrimental impacts of cocaine and other drugs. It is true that the study that Grewen and her colleagues conducted focuses on infancy. However, the findings from this study can be extended to later parts of life such as adolescence. This means that since she focuses on adolescence, Stassen essentially builds on the insights that Grewen and her team share. The impacts of cocaine do not end in infancy. They are witnessed even in adolescence and adulthood. Therefore, for the sake of safeguarding the health and development of their children, pregnant women should keep off cocaine and other drugs.
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The findings that Grewen and her team reveal in their article basically confirmed my fears regarding the effects of cocaine. I have always understood that cocaine and other drugs have harmful impacts on the health of infants, adolescents and adults. I have witnessed first-hand how damaging drugs can be on human health. While volunteering in an intervention that targeted at-risk pregnant mothers, I was able to recognize the damage that results when these mothers consume drugs. Perhaps what I found surprising in Grewen and her team’s article is their suggestion that the impacts of cocaine can extend into adulthood. I think that it is very unfair for innocent babies to carry the sins of their mothers well into their adolescence and adulthood. Pregnant women need to exercise greater caution. They should shun such dangerous substances as cocaine and instead adopt measures that enhance the welfare of their babies. I also feel that the entire society has an obligation to help these women keep their babies healthy. From my experience, these women are usually in difficult situations where they are exposed to the threat of drug abuse. If the wellbeing of the unborn babies is to be safeguarded, effort from all members of society is needed.
References
Grewen, K., Burchinal, M., Vachet, C., Gouttard, S., Gilmore, J. H., Lin, W., Johns, J., Elam, M. & Gerig, G. (2014). Prenatal Cocaine Effects on Brain Structure in Early Infancy. NeuroImage, 101, 114-123.
Berger, Stassen K. (2017). The Developing Person through the Lifespan . 10th Edition. Duffield: Worth Publishers.
