Drug addiction is a serious problem and it has been going on for a very long time now. In the past, it was the majority of men who were involved in it. As time went by, more and more women and younger people dared to take drugs. Some of them were in it just to try it. However, others were not able to get out of it and have been totally addicted. This goes for both men and women.
Today, the worse thing is that their addiction is affecting so many babies as a result of having mothers who are addicted to drugs. The drug gets passed on from the mother to the fetus through the bloodstream which leads to babies suffering withdrawal symptoms after birth. It also causes developmental delays in their childhood. This is why we need more rehab services to lessen the number of people taking drugs and to help those who are taking it- to save their lives and that of other people as well.
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NEARLY 800 babies were born suffering the effects of their mother’s drug addiction in the past three years in Scotland – with experts warning the true toll is likely to be higher.
New figures show 774 babies were recorded as affected by addiction or suffering withdrawal symptoms from drugs between 2014 and 2017.
The drugs pass from mother to foetus through the bloodstream, resulting in babies suffering a range of withdrawal symptoms after birth and developmental delays in childhood.
Consultant neonatologist Dr Helen Mactier, honorary secretary of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine, said there was a “hidden” number of women who took drugs in pregnancy and varying definitions of drug misuse in pregnancy which meant figures were likely to be an underestimate.
She said: “The problem largely in Scotland is opioid withdrawal – heroin and methadone.
“The baby withdraws from these substances and they are very irritable, cross, unhappy children who can be quite difficult to feed until they finally get over the withdrawal.”
Dr Mactier said at birth the babies were usually small, and had small heads and visual problems. She added there is evidence they suffer developmental delays in early childhood.
The figures, revealed in a written parliamentary answer, show an increase of 80% in cases from the three-year period from 2006-9, when 427 babies were born with the condition…
