Methamphetamine, a drug also known as "meth," can harm your baby during your pregnancy. Pharmacies legally dispense methamphetamine in small quantities as "Desoxyn" to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, but it is dangerous to your unborn baby when you take it in large amounts as a street drug. The euphoric high of the drug feels wonderful, but you are also sending the drug directly to your baby through your bloodstream.
Newborn Addiction
Your baby may become addicted to methamphetamine during your pregnancy and go through withdrawal symptoms after birth, including trouble sleeping, muscle spasms, tremors and feeding problems, according to an American Pregnancy Association essay, "Using Illegal Street Drugs During Pregnancy."
Drug Withdrawal
Newborn babies addicted to methamphetamine, also known as "crank babies," are reported to be abnormally sensitive to light, noise and touch, and may cry inconsolably for hours.Your newborn may have to be weaned off the drug through being given small amounts of methamphetamine and heroin.
Death Risk
Your baby may be born earlier and weigh less than babies not exposed to methamphetamine, and may die soon after birth. A 2010 study of babies exposed before birth to methamphetamine, carried out by Dr. Ido Solt and his colleagues at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, showed that these babies are more likely to be born prematurely and weigh less than other babies. Four percent of all methamphetamine-exposed babies died in the first month of life as opposed to 1 percent of all babies from the general hospital population.
Brain Damage
Your baby may be born with learning disabilities, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and delays in normal developmental stages, according to the Oregon Post-Adoption Resource Center's booklet, "Parenting Children Who Have Been Exposed to Methamphetamine."
Research is continuing to determine how prenatal methamphetamine exposure affects your baby's brain. A 2010 study by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles, "Abnormal Brain Activation During Working Memory in Children with Prenatal Exposure to Drugs of Abuse," compared the brains of children prenatally exposed to methamphetamine with those of children who were not exposed. The researchers found that children prenatally exposed to methamphetamine had sustained brain damage to a structure responsible for complex coordination of behavior and thought.
Domestic Violence
Your baby may also be endangered before birth by methamphetamine-fueled domestic violence. For example, a 2001 report by Louisiana police to the National Drug Intelligence Center noted that methamphetamine use was causing a surge in domestic violence by methamphetamine users suffering from psychosis, paranoia, and extreme anger and irritability. Studies of pregnant women have shown that your unborn baby will be able to hear from the sixth month of pregnancy onward, and will recognize your voice and react to your feelings. If you and your partner are having verbal and physical fights caused by methamphetamine-triggered mood swings, not only does the violence physically endanger your pregnancy, but your child will react to your distress.
References
- National Drug Intelligence Center: Methamphetamine
- American Pregnancy Association: Using Illegal Street Drugs During Pregnancy
- North Dakota Department of Health: New Mother Fact Sheet: Methamphetamine Use During Pregnancy
- Mail Tribune: A Lifeline for Meth Kids
- PubMed.gov: Methamphetamine Use During Pregnancy: Maternal and Neonatal Implications
- Oregon Post-Adoption Resource Center: Parenting Children Who Have Been Exposed to Methamphetamine
