Born Hooked

Drug Affected Newborns

The following factors affect the newborn:

• Type of drugs used by the parent• Degree of drug use• Prenatal care received• Nutrition during pregnancy• Mother’s general state of health

10% of all infants born are exposed to illegal drugs before

birth.

Approximately 550,000 to 750,000 babies born each year have some symptoms of drug

and /or alcohol exposure

Some effects may be temporary while others may span through the child's life, affecting physical, emotional,

social and educational development.

Drug Use May Cause

• Low birth weight (weighing less that 5.5 pounds)• Premature birth (at less than 37 weeks)• Exposure in the early stages affects the

development of organs and the central nervous system (even if the woman doesn’t know she is pregnant)

• Exposure in the later stages affects physical growth and behavioral development.

• Withdrawal symptoms

Drug Affected Infants May Also Experience:

• Uncontrollable shakes• Exposure to infectious or STDs by mother• Increased risk of death from SIDS• Difficulty breathing• Inability to eat properly when hungry• Loss of contact with parents• Extreme sensitivity to light, sound and touch• Difficulty responding to new stimuli, focusing

attention and processing information

Marijuana

• Retained in the body for a long time.

• Contains more than 57 unique ingredients, several are mind-altering

• The THC seeps into the fatty cells and fat-laden organs (liver, spleen, lungs, sex organs and the brain)

Marijuana

• One study on adult females who have been smoking marijuana for more than one year shows a hormonal change has occurred which can be dangerous. This raises concern about the developing reproductive systems of teenagers who use.

Marijuana

• In one study, pregnant rhesus monkeys were exposed to marijuana at the human equivalent of 1-2 joints per day. In 44% of the cases, the mothers aborted and infants died before, during and after birth. The pathologist found that in the babies that died, there were developmental abnormalities in the nervous, cardiovascular systems and in various organs.

Marijuana

• Pot decreases the rate of cell division, but even small amount of marijuana impairs the formation of DNA, the genetic material of the cells.

• Pot may impair the immune system.• The sperm of pot smokers looks

spotty and faded compared to the sperm of nonsmokers

Minn. Stat. Ann. § 626.556, ‘’Neglect’’ includes:Prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, used by the mother for a nonmedical purpose, as evidenced by withdrawal symptoms in the child at birth, results of a toxicology test performed on the mother at delivery or the child at birth,or medical effects or developmental delays during the child’s first year of life thatmedically indicate prenatal exposure to a controlled substance

BUT>>>High Court Unanimously Rules that Pregnancy Prosecutions Are Illegal;Reverses Convictions of Women