The Effect of Heroin on Pregnant women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Effect of Heroin on Pregnant women - Essay Example eroin, Marijuana, Brown sugar and others have adverse and harmful side affects and it is doubly harmful for any pregnant mother as it spoils her health. Once addicted to a drug, a person finds it extremely difficult to get over it and even if he or she Many pregnant, addicted, substance abusing mothers suffer tremendously when they go through withdrawal symptoms during later pregnancy and child birth. Initially when the drug is taken by a person, it makes them feel heavy and drowsy. They are hardly conscious of their surroundings and very often go into delirium. (Bauer, C.R., et al. September, 2005) Heroin affects the nervous system, making the person’s mental responses slow and clouded. Their breathing becomes heavy and slow and the Cardiac function slows down very much, sometimes to the point of death. Withdrawal symptoms are extremely difficult to go through. During this period, the mother experiences, extreme craving for the drug, and if left alone, can use it once again. The mother undergoing these symptoms is irrational and exhibits irritability. She becomes moody and throws a lot of frustration around. She has sleep abnormalities and The addicted pregnant mother experiences all this, in addition to severe hormonal imbalance which adversely affects the growing fetus in the mother’s womb. The results of such an experience, is fatal to the unborn child and may damage the fetus for life. Though it is quite a difficult task to treat addiction, yet there are ways and means that a person can get over his or her addiction. Treatment can be done in two ways. The person can be treated as an out – patient or in the very severe cases it is better to treat the addiction if she is an in- patient. For pregnant mothers addicted to heroin, it is better for them to be treated as in – patients because they can be always under the watchful eyes of the physician or nurse who could help immediately if things did not go quite right. Illicit drugs such as Heroin,