Table of Contents
How does drugs affect the development of a baby?
Premature birth increases the risk of lung, eye, and learning problems in the infant. Birth defects that often occur due to drug use include seizure, stroke, and intellectual and learning disabilities. Fetuses can become dependent on the drug(s) the mother is using and may experience withdrawal symptoms after delivery.
How do drugs affect growth and development?
Drug abuse can impact the brain’s ability to function in the short term as well as prevent proper growth and development in the long term. Substance abuse affects teen brain development by: Interfering with neurotransmitters and damaging connections within the brain. Reducing the ability to experience pleasure.
What are the long term effects of drug babies?
Overall, fetal cocaine exposure can affect fetal and long-term growth patterns, as well as cause language deficits, behavior defects, and executive functioning abnormalities.
What effects do alcohol and drugs have on a fetus?
Research shows that use of tobacco, alcohol, or illicit drugs or misuse of prescription drugs by pregnant women can have severe health consequences for infants. This is because many substances pass easily through the placenta, so substances that a pregnant woman takes also reach the fetus.
What are symptoms of a baby born addicted to drugs?
Babies born to substance-abusing mothers may have short- or long-term effects. Short-term withdrawal symptoms may consist only of mild fussiness. More severe symptoms may include acting irritable or jittery, feeding problems, and diarrhea. Symptoms vary depending on which substances were used.
What happens when a baby is born addicted to drugs?
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (also called NAS) is a group of conditions caused when a baby withdraws from certain drugs he’s exposed to in the womb before birth. NAS is most often caused when a woman takes drugs called opioids during pregnancy.
How long does it take a newborn to detox?
Most of the time, withdrawal symptoms ease after a few weeks and go away by the time the baby is 6 months old.
How long does it take for drugs to leave a baby’s system?
The detection window for most drugs of abuse in meconium and umbilical cord testing is up to approximately 20 weeks (some drugs such as methamphetamine may be less).