Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Catherine Saint Louis is a writer who is constantly writing about issues in health. This article is titled Pregnant Women Turn to Marijuana, Perhaps Harming Infants, published on February 2, 2017. It tells a story about a young women named Stacey who is smoking marijuana while pregnant. Catherine’s purpose in this article is to spread awareness to the world bringing the dramatic issue of destroying infants little by little that have not yet been born. This is a big issue and women don’t seem to understand it.

Recent reforms can curb the opioid epidemic. Yes, health care professionals have realized the complex problem and they now understand the problem and what needs to be done. According to CQ Researcher, “Experts see some progress in the fight against opioid painkiller abuse. After peaking in 2012, the number of prescriptions written for opioids declined 12 percent between 2013 and 2015, according to IMS Health, a market research company. Symphony Health Solutions, a data company that studies the pharmaceutical industry, found an 18 percent drop in that period.”

This is because detoxification places your unborn child at risk and can even cause their death when not done properly. Doctors specially trained in helping opiate addicted females get clean have access to opioid replacement medications. They 'll use things such as methadone to help you get clean without harming your unborn baby. Unfortunately, relapse rates still remain high. Seeking help for you and your unborn child is only the first step down a long road of living without self-medicating yourself.

According to Holly Jorden a behavioral health counselor and Michelle Kosa a social worker, they see drug addicted mothers on a weekly basis at family care health centers in Putnam, Boone and Kanawha counties. All mothers are taking subutex, a prescription drug that helps reduce the symptoms of opiate dependence. Meanwhile, according to the agency for health care research and quality in 2003 nationwide about 1 in 1,000 pregnant were women addicted to drugs. In 2009, the number rose to 3 in 1,000. Women who are drug addicted mother avoids doctors well into their third semester.

Opioid Epidemic in the United States              The opioid crisis has risen over the years here in America. The addiction to painkillers has caused many drug overdoses across America. According to the Vox," In 2015, more than 52,000 people have died from drug overdoses from linked to opioids such as Percocet, heroin, Oxycontin or even fentanyl. This problem did not become an overnight health crisis, but it has become quickly known in America.             Expanding our drug treatment centers across America would provide the support to those who are addicted to drugs.

The prevalence of opioid drug-related overdose has risen progressively over the past two decades becoming one of the leading causes of death in the United States. According to Center for Disease Control, drug overdoses accounted for 52,404 U.S. deaths, including 33,091 (63.1%) that involved an opioid in 2015 (Rudd, Seth, David & Scholl, 2016). To date, the numbers are continuously snowballing and it has been a major factor in the burgeoning costs of healthcare in the United States. In fact, the economic burden of opioid abuse cost the nation a staggering amount of $78.5 billion a year, taking into account the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and even goes beyond issue of criminal justice (Florence, Zhou, Luo &

Opioids Today Undoubtedly, the addictive nature of opioids has generated immense controversy in both the medical community and population of the United States. During the last decade, the increase of people addicted to opioids has grown steadily, among them; you can find ordinary people but celebrities, athletes and soldiers thus charging many lives in their path. Despite this, it was not until after several months of political pressure that the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, declared in the middle of 2017 those opioids are responsible of a health crisis in America. The history of the nation shows that with the passage of time, similar crises have appeared that are now experienced, but that despite this, they have not

Underlying Causes: The increase in the sale of opioids is considered to be the root of the opioid crisis, as the drugs have been proven to be highly addictive. An addiction to prescriptive opioids, however, can lead to an addiction to synthetic, illegal opioids, such as heroine or fentanyl, which are less expensive and easier to acquire. In fact, in their journal article, “Associations of nonmedical pain reliever use and initiation of heroin use in the United States” Pradip Muhuri and associates discovered that “the recent (12 months preceding interview) heroin incidence rate was 19 times higher among those who reported prior nonmedical prescription pain reliever (NMPR) use than among those who did not (0.39 vs. 0.02 percent)” (Muhuri et. al). In other words, abusing prescription opioids significantly raises the chances of abusing illicit drugs, such as heroin.

Opioids have become an increasing problem in the United States throughout the recent years. According to the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in September there were more adults using prescription pain killers than cigarettes and cigars combined (Katel). Massachusetts also attributed opioids to 1,379 deaths in the past year (Katel). An issue this vast and deadly requires an unorthodox method in attempt to restrain it. Though seemingly contrary to the task at hand, safe injection sites could possibly be the method that saves thousands of American lives.

Heroin in Pregnant Women Drug Review Heroin is an addictive opioid that falls into the category of Class One Narcotic per the Drug Enforcement Administration (Drugdex 2016). There are many adverse effects that occurs to the individual who is using Heroin. However, because of the addictive nature these are over looked and the users continue to use the drug and cause self-harm. When people think of heroin users all the think about is the harm they are doing to their bodies, however if the user is a female and become pregnant the child born is at risk because of the drug. The article “Perinatal Effects of combined use of Heroin, Methadone, and Amphetamine during pregnancy and quantitative measurement of metabolites in hair” looks at the effects

If people know about all the problems that are attached to infant exposure to drugs and alcohol they would be less likely to be using during pregnancy. If a newborn was prenatally exposed to drugs, alcohol, or a non-prescribed controlled substance there is a high risk of abuse or neglect (Parental Drug Use). If people understood statistics like that they would be so much less likely to start an addiction that could grow out of control and affect their lives later. More than sixty percent of children in the foster system are there because of parental drug abuse (Bever and Stein 1). This statistic shows how many children are affected by parental drug abuse and that eliminating the problem of parental drug abuse would decrease the growing number of foster

One of America’s rapid growing problems today is crack babies. When you use the term or even hear the term crack babies, you think that the baby have been put on the drug or is even doing it themselves. But as a child, they have no say so or way of determining if they are a crack baby or not. So many pregnant women do drugs every day and the number is just increasing by the hour, it’s absolutely ridiculous. All mother have so much say so in their child’s life.

The major problem with opioid painkillers is they can and will cause addiction, but they are extremely effective in alleviating pain; consequently, they have put America in a state of extreme crisis. More Americans died of drug overdoses in 2016 than Americans that died in the entirety of the Vietnam War (Lopez). It’s calculated that fifty nine thousand to sixty five thousand people died of overdoses in 2016, with a likely, but not perfect number of sixty two thousand. This tragic epidemic could be slowed or even fixed by the use of marijuana as a painkiller; according to a study funded by the National Institute On Drug Abuse or NIDA there is a connection between the legalization of medical and the decrease of deaths caused by opioid overdose. (NIDA).

A recurring problem of epic proportions in my community is the opioid crisis. I am deeply saddened watching and hearing stories of how this epidemic is destroying both individuals and families on a daily basis. I have seen the destruction first hand in my high school which inspired me to join SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). I have both counselled and consoled my fellow students inspiring them to get help and, equally important, caring for them during their

is not safe for the developing fetus or the mother.” This is, to most people, common knowledge: drugs and pregnancy do not mix. Although many still do not know the true face of illegal drug use while in prenatal care. Due to many cases of use, we, as a community, have come to