Cocaine and Pregnancy

     Although the physical effects of cocaine use while pregnant is a concerning thought for the baby there is another issue that also comes along with cocaine abuse. Cocaine can alter the way a child is raised and treated during neonatal stages as well as infancy into adult years. The reason should be more obvious than most, maternal neglect and reduced care for their child.

     When most people think cocaine abuse and think of how it effect the baby mentally rather than emotionally. Mothers are found to have less interest and more aggression towards their children even through toddler years. The reason for the hostility and neglect from the mother is because most people who abuse cocaine suffer from mood disorders, low socioeconomic status and tend to be using drugs other than cocaine itself. Children who are raised in a home with a mother who abuses cocaine are twenty times more likely to be out into foster care.

     As a result these children have not only been neglected for a decent time period but they are then left with the emotional damage and belief that they are not wanted. This not only effects how they view others but it effects how they view themselves as well. Self-esteem and self-worth play into effect when it comes to school work, romantic relationships, and future jobs. If the children do not see themselves as worthy, wanted and loved at such a young, crucial age in their lives it will take twice as much time to build them up in confidence.

     Mothers who struggle from cocaine abuse not only hurt their children physically but emotionally as well. Neglecting their children can not only affect them in that present moment of their lives but, it can affect them for years and years to come. Emotional damage can be harder to heal.

 

 

 

        S.K. Williams, J.M. Johns, Prenatal and gestational cocaine exposure: Effects on the oxytocin system and social behavior with implications for addiction, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior, Volume 119, April 2014, Pages 10-21, ISSN 0091-3057, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2013.07.004.
(http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009130571300172X)
Keywords: Prenatal cocaine; Oxytocin; Maternal behavior; Aggression; Addiction; Social behavior

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