Babies born to meth addicted mothers

There is no better example in my mind that illustrates the strength of meth’s destructive power, than when you look at cases of meth addicted mothers - especially pregnant women that use meth.

Of the strongest forms of love is that of a mother’s love for her children. Meth can even tear apart a biological and physiological bond and make the need to get high paramount above even the need to protect one’s own child. We’ve all heard of the “mother bear” philosophy, where a mother can somehow summon unworldly strength in order to protect a child in danger; many times putting her own safety or needs aside in order to save her child. Women that use meth while pregnant lose the ability to see beyond their absolute need to get high.

Babies exposed to meth in the womb can be born smaller than the average size baby as their growth is many times stunted by the exposure to meth in the womb. Other issues can arise such as prematurity, clefting, cardiac anomalies, and even death of the unborn baby.

Babies born to meth addicted mothers can have a hard time developing the skills needed to survive outside the womb. Studies show that babies have low APGAR scores, have problems sucking/swallowing and thus cannot be fed and may have very little reflexes. Additionally, meth exposed babies may sleep 23 hours out of the day. Women that do meth while in labor majorly increase the chance that the baby will have a stroke during the birth process or shortly thereafter.

If you are pregnant and using meth PLEASE take into consideration the life YOU and God are creating. This baby will have to live the rest of his or her life with your decisions. I know that it is hard to get clean and stop cold turkey, but it will be even harder looking at the face of your precious child everyday knowing that whatever disabilities he or she has, is likely as a result of your drug use.

Please think about it and if you need to talk to someone, there is a great meth forum with people in all stages of addiction and recovery who may have been in your very situation that can help you through this. Use the anonymity of the internet to your advantage and don’t be afraid to speak up!

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