Pregnant Women and the Use of Illicit Drugs, Research Paper Example

Health professionals advise that women avoid the use of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. According to the March of Dimes, “about 1 in 20 women (5 percent) take street drugs during pregnancy” (March of Dimes, n.d.). It is important to consider that the use of illicit substances not only damages the physical and mental well-being of the parent, it is also likely that these drugs will cause harm to the developing fetus. Fetal development requires complex signaling from hormones in the body to be directed properly. When additional chemicals are found in the body, they can contribute to aberrant interactions that prevent the normal fetal growth. Therefore, it is advised that pregnant women abstain from the use of alcohol and illicit substances during pregnancy.

When pregnant mothers use illicit substances during their pregnancy, these chemicals pass through their placenta and have an effect on the developing child (Baby Centre Medical Advisory Board, n.d.). These drugs can have a variety of effects on development, depending upon the identity of the drug. Not all effects are currently known. Some adverse effects include blocking the amount of oxygen that the fetus receives, placental detachment from the uterus, and improper development of the limbs and organs. It is therefore important to pregnant mothers to avoid these risk factors completely, which can result in the development of birth defects or a miscarriage.

Some medical professionals have proposed as risk classification system for drug use during pregnancy. This classification system can be used to help pregnant women understand the extent of the risk that they face when taking both legal and illegal substances (Addis et al., 2000). This allows pregnant women to make more informed decisions about their health and the health of their developing child. Overall, a very small percentage of drugs are considered safe and the effects of those excluded from the study are not generally known. Thus, professionals recommend that drugs be avoided in spite of their known or unknown side effects.

Many health professionals have also studies the legal implications of illicit substance use during pregnancy. Some individuals claim that the use of these substances should constitute legal harm to the fetus, because with the current knowledge that we have regarding the relationship between pregnancy and illicit drug use, these mothers to be are causing damage knowingly to their unborn child. Based on an analysis of current child neglect policy in the United States, this action falls under some instances of child abuse, even though this ethical standard is not highly or easily enforced (Chavkin, 1990).

To determine the prevalence of illicit drug use among pregnant females, researchers conducted a hair test to determine the identity of the drugs most frequently used. It was found that cocaine and opioid use was easily detected using this method, while this was less challenging for cannabinoids (Ostrea et al., 2001). This shows that worried physicians can conduct such tests to gain a greater understanding of the drug use of pregnant mothers and use this information to provide recommendations regarding the health of the mother and the child.

It is plausible for medical professionals and pregnant mothers to utilize this information to gain a greater understanding of the relationship between fetal development and the use of illicit drugs. It is essential to use this information to improve medical practice in a manner that helps facilitate the health of the mother and of the developing child. Overall, it is apparent that the use of illegal drugs during pregnancies contribute to negative health effects, but it remains important to find new ways to help pregnant mothers end their dependency on drugs to enhance their health.

References

Addis A, Sherabi S, Bonati M. (2000). Risk Classification Systems for Drug Use During Pregnancy. Drug Safety, 23(3): 245-253.

Baby Centre Medical Advisory Board. (n.d.). Illegal drugs in pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a541318/illegal-drugs-in-pregnancy

Chavkin, W. (1990). Drug Addiction and Pregnancy: Policy Crossroads. American  Journal of Public Health, 80(4).

March of Dimes. (n.d.). Street drugs and pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/street-drugs-and-pregnancy.aspx

Ostrea EM, Knapp DK, Tannenbaum L, Ostrea A, Romero A, Salari V, Ager J. (2001).

Estimates of illicit drug use during pregnancy by maternal interview, hair analysis, and meconium analysis. The Journal of Pediatrics, 138(3): 344-348.