...Thesis Statement: Drug addicted pregnant women are being treated as criminals instead of women who suffers from a disease of addiction. The underlying issues of drug addicted pregnant women have been overlooked by society for many years. Society believes that these women should be thrown in jail and treated as criminals. Despite the fact that drug addiction has now been declared as an official disease by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Numerous studies have been made in regards to the dilemma that surrounds drug addicted pregnant women. The dilemma argues the point; do these women show any concern for their unborn child, or if their intent is to harm the child. Drug addiction by definition is a condition characterized by an overwhelming desire to continue taking a drug to which one has become habituated through repeated consumption because it produces a particular effect, usually an alteration of mental status. Addiction is usually accompanied by a compulsion to obtain the drug, a tendency to increase the dose, a psychological or physical dependence, and detrimental consequences for the individual and society (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 2001). The underlying issues of drug addicted pregnant women have been examined by a number of authors who attempted to expose the truth behind why these women are reluctant to seek prenatal care. According to Carolyn S. Carter (2002), in her article she explored societal responses to prenatal drug abuse, including stigmatic...
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...State Responses to Substance Abuse Among Pregnant Women Developmental Psychology For decades, American citizens and lawmakers alike have been arguing over the controversial issue of women's prenatal substance abuse. Considering that the public opinion for this matter varies across the nation, each state has their own set of laws on how to deal with the issue. Some states have made drug treatment more readily available for pregnant women with a history of drug abuse, while others have attempted to criminalize prenatal drug-use or use it as grounds to end custodial rights. “For many lawmakers, the issue comes downs to the difficult task of balancing a woman’s right to bodily integrity with society’s interest in ensuring healthy pregnancies, and the question of whether punitive approaches will foster - or hinder - health outcomes for women and children.” This report covers both the negative and positive approaches of state intervention to alleviating prenatal substance abuse and the alarming statistics regarding the relationship between prenatal drug-use and race. For advocates of women’s reproductive rights, they ask the question: “Can the state ever be justified in regulating a pregnant woman’s behavior in the interest of protecting her fetus and whether such policies potentially undermine the legality of abortion?” To date, no state has yet enacted a law that criminalizes drug-use during pregnancy. Nevertheless, hundreds of women have been arrested and charged with various...
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...EFFECTS OF THE DIFFERENT SUBSTANCES ON THE FETUS 2 Marijuana (also known as weed, pot or grass): 2 Cocaine: 2 Alcoholism 3 LAW AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE MOTHERS 4 THEORIES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE 6 Biological Theories 6 Genetic Factors 6 Metabolic Imbalance 7 THEORECTICAL PERSPECTIVE 8 MANAGEMENT AND TREATMENT 10 SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 11 EXPECTED RESULTS/TIMEFRAME 12 CONCLUSION 13 REFERENCES 14 PICTURES ILLUSTRATING PREGNANT SUBSTANCE ABUSE WOMEN AND FETUS 15 INTRODUCTION Social problems exist at the door step of every community it has been in existence decades ago and still lives on today. Social problems can be defined as an issue that relates to society’s perception of an individual’s personal life and their behaviour is considered to be out of the norm. Substance abuse has vast becoming an epidemic in today’s society and it is considered as a social problem. Substance abuse is one thing but to see pregnant women abusing these endangering substances is another issue. People use drugs for many different reasons but for a pregnant woman to use drugs she may be mentally ill or depressed. Substance abuse may not have a serious or long-lasting effect on you but the same is not always true for a foetus. Mothers that abuse substances give birth to "drug babies." These children have serious developmental problems. Researches show that using substances legal or illegal during pregnancy has a direct impact on the foetus, whether smoking, consumption of alcohol, or...
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...Pregnant Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy: Should They Be Prosecuted? English Composition I June 3, 2012 What are the long-term effects on children who were drug exposed in utero? Are criminal charges for child abuse the best solution for pregnant mothers who use illicit drugs during pregnancy? This is a question that has become a hot topic and cause for controversy among the medical community, legal community, and society in general over the last 20 years. For example, South Carolina has defended their actions in the criminal convictions of women charged with child abuse for using drugs, such as crack cocaine, during pregnancy, while states like Wisconsin and South Dakota have taken less drastic measures. Almost all states agree that some sort of action needs to be taken to protect unborn children, but what those actions should be are widely varied and debated. Although personal feelings and emotions often lead us to immediately draw one conclusion; thorough research and doing what is best for women, children and their families are a strong argument for looking at other alternatives to this problem. South Carolina has long been at the forefront of the movement to criminalize prenatal substance abuse, using a broad range of laws to enforce a policy that began at one or two hospitals in the state and, over time, has expanded to a statewide initiative [Contemporary Women’s Issues] 1998. However, states such as Wisconsin are wrestling with when the criminal...
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...The news of being pregnant is one of the best news a woman could hear. In order to give birth a healthy baby, women needs to take care of themselves during pregnancy; they need prenatal care. The health care that women gets during their pregnancy is what we call prenatal care. Health issues are usually spotted early during the pregnancy by the health care providers allowing them to treat these issues early. It has been shown that women who do not take care of them during the early stage of pregnancy can cause their babies to have low birth weights and even their deaths (Office on Women’s Health, 2012). In Broward, there are several community outreaches and state's clinics in place to provide prenatal care to pregnant women. These outreaches and clinics provides services that are sometimes free. The services that they provide are described as follows: Tobacco smoking cessation Tobacco smoking can cause some serious harm to an unborn child. Smoking can The news of being pregnant is one of the best news a woman could hear. In order to give birth a healthy baby, women needs to take care of themselves during pregnancy; they need prenatal care. The health care that women gets during their pregnancy is what we call prenatal care. Health issues are usually spotted early during the pregnancy by the health care providers allowing them to treat these issues early. It has been shown that women who do not take care of them during the early stage of ...
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...Bibliography Healthcare for Homeless and Low Income Pregnant Women HCS/465 February 4th, 2014 H. Lane Baggett, Ph.D. Annotated Bibliography Special health care needs of homeless pregnant women. (1995, December). Advances in Nursing Science, 18(2), 44-56. This article explains in detail about homeless women through different stages of pregnancy. It provides a great insight about the issues that these individuals have and some of the reasons behind their homelessness status. Many different interviews have been done to come up with the information provided in this article, including nursing staff, shelter staff, family and friends of individuals. This article also demonstrates the importance of adequate healthcare, and how healthcare providers should be aware individuals’ needs. Hunter, L., & Yount, S. (2011). Oral health and oral health care practices among low-income pregnant women.Journal Of Midwifery & Women's Health, 56(2), 103-109. doi:10.1111/j.1542-2011.2011.00041.x This article provided information about low income pregnant women that are in need of dental care. Most of these women had some knowledge about basic dental hygiene but did not see dental care on regular bases. This information was provided for better understanding and planning for the programs available to the public especially low income individuals in the future. Wood, T., & Watts, K. (2005). Challenges of caring for homeless pregnant women -- 1. British Journal Of Midwifery, 13(3), 138-140...
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...“Should Pregnant Woman Be Punished For Exposing Her Fetus To Risk” Chandra Beasley Keller Graduate School of Management HSM542 September 16, 2014 Michelle Gomillion “Should A Pregnant Woman Be Punished For Exposing Her Fetus To Risk” When a woman becomes pregnant, it is very important for her to lead a healthy life to eat plenty of nourishing food, get plenty of rest, and exercise regularly. It is also vital that she avoid anything that might harm her or her baby-to-be. For a pregnant woman, drug abuse is doubly dangerous. According to (daily news, 2010) one hundred babies are born with drug withdrawal symptoms every month. Some drugs can directly impair prenatal development, most of the body organs and systems of the baby-to-be are formed within the first ten weeks or so of pregnancy during this stage. After about the tenth week, the fetus should grow rapidly in weight and size. At this stage, certain drugs may damage organs that are still developing, such as the eyes, as well as the nervous system. Continuing drug use also increases the risk of miscarriage and premature delivery. But the greatest danger drugs pose at this stage is their potential to interfere with normal growth “low-birth weight babies require special care and run a much higher risk of severe health problems or even death”. (Murphy, 1998) The cases of women who are charged and convicted of child abuse even before they are born reflect an interesting intersection between the conservative War on...
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...Montez Wilmer Critical Issues in Corrections Mr. Taroski My paper will discuss my opinion on whether or not I agree with "should women who are pregnant be incarcerated?" And "should mothers in prison be allowed to keep their babies with them?". Also my I will talk about who takes care of the children of the incarcerated women, and when the mothers go to prison who is responsible for the children left behind. Mothers being allowed bring their babies into prison while they are incarcerated can go two ways, there are pros and cons to having the babies in prison. I think that if this was allowed, other inmates that have a problem with that mother have an opportunity to hurt that mothers child. If they get into a heated argument the other inmates could try to seriously injure the baby or even try to kill the baby. Also if mothers were allowed to have their babies in prison, the prison system would have to spend money on a separate facility for the babies to stay, something like a day care so that the mothers can always come visit their children when they are allowed to. Another thing with women being allowed to have their babies in prison is the humiliation that child would have to live through growing up when they no longer live in the prison. They would have to deal with people calling them a prison baby thinking that they have no outside skills like they were the ones who were serving the time in prison. Also the children would miss out on a normal life because...
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...lack of adequate assistance to low-income pregnant women and their families. This plan will allow one to make a great impact in healthcare, attests to the art of nursing even as a student, the whole multidisciplinary team and the most important of aspect of healthcare; the patients that are being served. This paper will offer insight into the community, including a thorough assessment of low income pregnant women and their families’ lack of access to adequate care in Delray Beach Florida. In addition, this paper will highlight a health promotion plan for improving quality of life and health of low income, underinsured Delray Beach residents by discussing state and local programs. Also, discussing the community stakeholders as well as the financial and political implications of the health promotion project is a pivotal point. By addressing the barriers in creating the health promotion in the community, the community health nurse can serve as a patient advocate and present a plan an alternate plan and any possible interventions in case of unforeseen, confounding issues that may arise. The Aggregate Being poor and having to take care of other children can increase the likelihood of negative health outcomes especially for their unborn children. Pregnant women need resources that can easily be accessed and utilized. Thus, this writer have chosen to write about cthis aggregate for the Health Promotion Plan paper as low-income pregnant women with families living in Delray Beach, Florida...
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...major issue in the world, let alone the United States. I remember as a young girl reading stories about women in the 1900’s and how common it was for women to die during child birth because there was not advanced medicine and technology like there is now. Since I’ve read or seen in the news about new technology being created for medical purposes, I thought that we, as a country, had moved forward with this problem. In reality, we have only taken steps back. The fact that, “statistics released in September of 2010 by the United Nations place the United States 50th in the world for maternal mortality” (Coeytaux, Bingham, Strauss 153)… is truly heartbreaking. As a modern progressive...
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...I Population Defined This paper will cover briefly a multidimensional analysis of pregnant women and cocaine use. This paper will explore how women, particularly pregnant women can be challenged by cocaine use. There will be A review of the literature and policies that impact this population. In history, women have been making strides against oppression and discrimination in health, social welfare, policy and many other areas of life (Eisenberg,1998). For purposes of this paper, inner urban cities will be discussed as it impacts pregnant women. To date, gender and issues of equality remain at the forefront. Advocacy organizations like Planned Parenthood, advocate for reproductive health care for women. Certain cultural practices, prohibit...
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...program that aims to prevent pregnancy in women who use Accutane, a powerful acne drug, and how it is not effective. Accutane, or Isotretinion, is a drug used for acne treatments, and can severely harm a fetus, causing craniofacial, cardiac, and central nervous system defects as well as the likelihood of a miscarriage or medical termination. I study has shown that 30-50% of the women who are on the drug do not comply with the program’s requirements. In order to prevent fetal risk from the drug, the article says that Canada is using pregnancy termination rather than pregnancy prevention. This means that not all the doctors are sticking closely to the guidelines to prevent pregnancy during acne treatment. The Canadian program recommends an informed written consent, two negative pregnancy tests before beginning treatment, and the use of two reliable birth control methods during treatment. Studies have shown that many woman were still getting pregnant while on the drug and many weren’t even taking birth control. 2. Analyze: Discuss salient ideas or points. What impact do you think this news has or will have on you or the world we live in? The main idea here is that it is extremely dangerous for a fetus when a mother is pregnant and taking acne medication at the same time. There are regulations in Canada about taking these pills and many tests that are suppose to me done before prescribing these pills to make sure these women are not pregnant. Somewhere in between the lines many...
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...HIV Mandatory Testing for Pregnant Women HIV is an important issue among the world, and it has attracted a lot of people’s attention. Besides, it also bring a lot of problems to the society. Nowadays, many people debate that should pregnant women take HIV mandatory testing. It means whether or not every female should take HIV mandatory testing when they are pregnant, and it is forced for them. Many people support that because they think taking HIV mandatory testing can reduce the rate of HIV infection for newborn, and many people disagree that because they think that would be disrespectful behavior for female’s privacy. In the book “HIV Testing and Counselling in Prisons and Other Closed Settings: Technical Paper”, the author stated “WHO [] estimates that only about 10 percent of persons living with HIV in low- and middle-income countries know their HIV status (WHO/UNAIDS, 2007). In many of these countries, access to HIV testing remains limited. Many high-income countries also estimate that a significant number of people living with HIV are not aware of their HIV status (OSI, 2007)”. It means that fewer people know their HIV condition, and they have low recognition to care about HIV. In addition, most people do not pay much attention to HIV problems in the society, and it would be a large risk for newborn HIV transmission. Faced with this condition, people would like to take some actions to release this terrible condition, and they want to find some methods to solve this problem...
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...you looking at the problem? What are your values? The Question. Should India implement mandatory iodine supplementation for pregnant women and children? Purpose of the question. Iodine is an essential substrate for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. The daily requirement of iodine is at least equal to the amount of hormone iodine degraded daily by the thyroid gland. When the requirements of iodine are not met, abnormalities such as thyroid function abnormalities, goiter formation, mental retardation, decreased fertility rate, and infant mortality occur (Pharoah, 1971). In many areas, iodization of salt, bread, or water was used to prevent problems of endemic iodine deficiency. However, because of various socioeconomic and geographic conditions, iodized salt does not reach the endemic areas (Pharoah, 1971). Also, because of unacceptable variability in the iodine content of kelp, seaweed, and other foods, supplementation should be implemented for adequate iodine intake (Zimmermann, 2003). In India, the number of pregnant and lactating women was estimated to be about 65 million in 2002 (Vijayaraghavan, 2002). With appropriate adjustments in the funds and costs needed to implement the policy, mandatory iodine supplementation can be easily implemented through local health services and services. The benefits of iodine supplementation for pregnant women and children—decrease in infant mortality rate, less frequent goiter occurrences, and awareness of micronutrient intake...
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...treatment vs. punishment. Should the pregnant mother who engages in substance abuse be viewed as a criminal or as someone suffering from an illness requiring appropriate treatment? This diversity of dramatically different responses illustrates the failure to establish a uniform policy for the management of this problem. The issue of substance abuse is one that has negatively plagued society. The complexities surrounding addiction are not easily overcome. These complexities are even more defined in cases of substance abuse by pregnant women, including legal addictive substances such as nicotine and alcohol. This issue has been pushed to the forefront of the public consciousness over the course of the past 30 years. Murphy and Rosenbaum 1999, describe maternal prenatal substance abuse as “chronic use of alcohol and/or other drugs by pregnant women”. It is my belief that the use of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs during pregnancy is still child endangerment .All these tetatogen’s can kill your baby or cause serious problems for them with the development of cognitive, physical, social, and emotional abilities. It is unfair to the child to have no control over what has caused them problems with development as a result of their mother’s teratogen use; therefore there should be consequences as a result of their harmful decisions. It is understood that a women has the right to do with her body what she wants and that some that are pregnant: drink, smoke, or use illegal...
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