Lisa Hackenmueller Caitlin McNamara Katrina Awker

 Inhalant  Local and Topical anesthetic  Central Nervous System Stimulant

 Adults 18 to 25 years old have the highest rate of current cocaine use.  Each day 5,000 more people will experiment with cocaine.  Cocaine remains the drug most commonly used for recreational purposes in pregnancy.  Nearly 90% of cocaine abusing women are of childbearing age.

 Sperm acts as a transportation mechanism.  This mechanism carries the cocaine into the ovum and is involved in the abnormal development of offspring in cocaine-exposed males.  The safest approach is for a man to quit using cocaine three months prior to trying to conceive a child.

 Changes occur in the meiotic spindle structure and the cytoplasmic centrosome organization.  Oocytes exposed to cocaine during maturation have a doubling in their cytoplasmic centrosome number.  These effects are related to the roles of chromosomes in establishing and maintaining functional microtubule organization during meiosis in oocytes.

 During the early stages of pregnancy cocaine exposure may increase risk of miscarriage.  Cocaine crosses the placenta and enters into the baby’s circulatory system.  Oxygen demand greater during pregnancy

 Fetal Distress  Premature rupture of membranes  Preterm delivery  Placental abruption  Fetal tachycardia  Hypertension  Intra-uterine fetal death

 Minority race  Low socioeconomic status  Poor prenatal care  Low maternal education  Greater maternal distress  Less stimulating home environment  The mother also tends to use alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco

 Low birth weight  Small Head Circumference  Shorter in length  Withdrawal symptoms  Stroke

 Abnormalities of the brain, skull, face, eyes, heart, limbs, intestines, genitals and urinary tract.  Cognitive Development  Emotional Development

 Decreased Fine motor skills  Lower IQ  Learning deficiencies  Neglect  Violence  Nerve Cell development  Environmental factors

 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)  Cardiopulmonary arrest  Pneumonia  Accidental Asphyxia  Respiratory distress syndrome

 Minnesota- Required to report and test for prenatal drug exposure. Also MN has policies that enforce admission to an inpatient treatment program for women who use drugs.  Currently South Carolina is the only state that holds prenatal substance abuse as a criminal act of child abuse and neglect.

 Do you think that mother’s who use cocaine during pregnancy should go to jail if caught? Or lose their child?  How do you think the typical family unit that these children are born into influences the development of the child?  How do you think these children affect our society today?