Negative Effects of Maternal Narcotic Use on Childhood Development
Counseling 502
Carl W. Cooper
Liberty University
December 5, 2009
Abstract
Maternal narcotic use during pregnancy can be directly related to the abnormal learning and health issues during child development. Just as society has changed its views on what is considered normal during pregnancy. Society has also changed the diagnoses of children that develop at a different rate than those who parents avoided narcotic use. Both types of parents took advantage prenatal care during the pregnancy, but the development of their children was different. Children whose parents abused narcotics during pregnancy will be viewed as abusers of narcotics and of government assistance. Government agencies and assistance at some point will become a leading source in the development of these children. This will be done by providing everything from additional learning resources to dealing with health issues which are the results of narcotic use during childhood development. The childhood development stages not only include the pregnancy stage but also the infant, toddler, preteen, and teenage years
Thesis Statement
Although there has been much attention given to drug awareness, there is not enough done to provide for the children of parents that abused narcotics not only during the pregnancy but while parenting. In the state of Florida there are locations where babies can be dropped off with no questions asked; these places are called Safe Havens. By providing these locations this is viewed as addressing the problems of unwanted births, unsafe home deliveries, and narcotic abusers who cannot provide for their children. Narcotic prevention before conception is not enough to combat this growing problem.
If the maternal parent is a drug abuser and the birth is a normal full term birth, there are other problems that occur during the development stages. The parent child relationship is in jeopardy but...