1. Abusing Drugs During Pregnancy is Child Abuse Hannah Magyar CP English 12 Mrs. Mahoney May 5, 2015

2. Thesis Women whose newborn babies have positive toxicology screens for illegal or harmful drugs should be charged with child abuse

3. Any substance a pregnant woman consumes during pregnancy is passed to the baby through the placenta Harmful substances include: alcohol, heroin, marijuana, cocaine, opioids, some prescription and over the counter medications

4. How common is drug abuse among pregnant women? 82% take prescribed substances 65% take nonprescription substances including illicit drugs 1500 newborns a year have neonatal withdrawal symptoms

5. Effects on Fetus Drug abuse during pregnancy may cause: Low birth weight Decreased length and head size Miscarriage Preterm birth Fetal strokes Fetal death

6. Long Term Effects Hyperactivity Difficulty concentrating Learning disabilities Aggression Personality problems Birth defects Spina bifida Glaucoma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmLVg4ufD- 0

7. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) a group of conditions a newborn can have after being exposed to addictive street or prescription drugs which are passed from a mother to the baby through the placenta the baby can get addicted to drugs while in the womb and will then go through drug withdrawal after birth

8. NAS Symptoms Seizures Tremors Excessive high-pitched crying Poor feeding Breathing very fast Trouble sleeping Diarrhea

9. Treatment of NAS Comforting baby Giving higher caloric formula Giving IV fluids Giving a treatment drug from the same family of drugs as the substance the baby is withdrawing from

10. Why I chose this topic? I chose this topic because I don’t think it is okay that people who are endangering their babies in this way are going unpunished and I wanted to inform people of the serious effects drugs have on babies. It is completely avoidable and should not be occurring

11. Mentor My mentor was my brother. He helped me find credible sources and he proofread my paper

12. March for Babies I participated in the March for Babies mile walk. The purpose of the event is to give hope to babies born too soon and to raise money to help mothers have healthy, full- term pregnancies.

13. References American Pregnancy Association. (2014, May). Using illegal drugs during pregnancy. Retrieved from http://americanpregnancy.org/pregnancy-health/illegal-drugs -during-pregnancy/ DARA Thailand. (2015). Effects of drug & alcohol on babies. Retrieved from http://alcoholrehab.com/drug-addiction/effects-of-drugs-alcohol-on-babies/ The Global Library of Women’s Medicine. (2015). Alcohol abuse during pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.glowm.com/section_view/heading/SubstanceAbuse Gregory, A. (2014, August 1). More than 1500 babies born addicted to heroin, crack cocaine and other drugs every year. Mirror. Retrieved from http://www.mirror.co. uk/news/uk-news/more-1500-babies-born-addicted-3950504

14. References Continued March of Dimes Foundation. (2013, November). Street drugs and pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.marchofdimes.org/pregnancy/illicit-drug-use-during-pregnancy MedlinePlus. (2015). Neonatal abstinence syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007313.html Stanford Children’s Health. (2015). Neonatal abstinence syndrome. Retrieved from http://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=neonatal-abstinence-syndrome-90-P02387 UCSF Medical Center. (2015). Substance use during pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/substance_use_during_pregnancy/