The real tragedy of drug abuse

I would like to introduce a very special guest blogger.  Her name is Randi and she is our youngest daughter.  Below is an essay she wrote for her home school project.  When she started writing it, I didn’t let know that I was going to post it here when she was finished.  She did the research herself and she had the first-hand experience of baby sitting Matthew.  You will learn about him in the essay.  She did the writing herself and I edited it for spelling and very little of the wording, just to make it flow a bit better.  There may have been some things that I could have changed, but I decided to leave it be and see what she came up with.  Without further ado, here is her essay.

That’s my take!

Larry

The real tragedy of drug abuse

Have you taken time to hold a baby recently? Did you feel something when you did? Remember how helpless the baby was? Babies are one of God’s greatest creations and also one of the most helpless and fragile. Because babies are already so helpless and fragile and have so many problems growing up, it makes a person wonder why a mother would want to add insult to injury and compound these problems by smoking or taking drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy. I am asking these questions because of Matthew, a very special eleven month old baby in my life. I will tell you more about him in a moment.

Let’s take a moment to explore the affects that tobacco, alcohol, and drugs have on adults. These include mood changes, distorted vision, delusions, confusion, and blackouts. These affects get worse, ranging from becoming drug dependent, having a weakened short-term memory, weakened problem-solving ability, and an increased feeling of paranoia and anxiety, which leads to severe pain attacks. The most severe affect of drugs, of course, is death. Stop and think about something for a moment. If these are the affects on an adult with a full grown body, just imagine what it does to a baby whose body is still developing and growing.

Some of the affects that cocaine, methamphetamine i.e.: meth, heroin, PCP i.e.: angel dust, tobacco, and alcohol have on unborn babies are as follows. Tobacco reduces the oxygen that reaches the unborn baby through the mother’s blood supply; it increases the chances of a preterm or still born baby, and a baby who has respiratory illnesses. Alcohol increases the risk of a cluster of birth defects, such as a small skull, abnormal facial features, and heart defects. These affects are often accompanied by impeded growth and mental retardation. Cocaine and meth increase the risks of miscarriage and premature labor and the baby may be born drug dependent. It may also suffer withdrawal symptoms, tremors, sleeplessness, and muscle spasms. Learning difficulties may develop later in life.

The affects of heroin include low blood sugar, bleeding within the head, irritability, vomiting, joint stiffness, and diarrhea. Women who inject narcotics may become infected with the HIV virus and subsequently develop AIDS. These women run a very high risk of passing the virus to their babies. PCP taken later in pregnancy can cause newborns to have withdrawal symptoms, such as lethargy, alternating with tremors. During the first ten weeks of pregnancy, the baby’s organs and body begin to grow. Some drugs can cause the baby’s heart, limbs, and facial features to form incorrectly. At ten weeks, the baby grows fast in weight and size. Drug use can cause slow growth and cause the baby to be born early. If drugs are used during the latter part of the pregnancy, the baby may be addicted as well.

Now, back to Matthew. My Aunt and Uncle have gained custody of their grandchild. His mother is a drug addict and alcoholic and she did not want the baby. During her pregnancy, she used drugs and alcohol and because of her addiction, Matthew was born premature, underweight, and with other problems. When he was born, he weighed two pounds and three ounces and had to stay in the hospital for two and a half months. I was asked to baby sit Matthew because he was so small and fragile. They did not want to take him to the daycare because they were afraid he would not receive the care and attention he needed. Because of his fragility, they were also afraid he would come in contact with sickness. For months after I started babysitting him, he had a hard time keeping his milk or baby food down. He would go through several sets of clothes each day, simply because everything kept coming back up. He is eleven months old now and the size of a six month old baby. He weighs 18.5 pounds, he has his first tooth, and he is doing is best to get up on his hands and knees and crawl.

Just stop and think about this. What if Matthew’s mother had cared enough about him to stop smoking and taking drugs and alcohol during her pregnancy? He would have been born when he was due, he would have had a normal birth weight, and he would not have had to stay in the hospital for over two months. If there were fewer mothers like Matthew’s, then there would be less drug abuse in the world and the babies would certainly be better off.

Randi Jackson