Term Paper on "Substance Abuse During Pregnancy"

Term Paper 3 pages (1000 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Teaching Plan

A teaching plan for these women should, ideally, start before they get pregnant. Of course, that is often not possible because the substance abuse issues they have are not detected until they begin to see a doctor for their pregnancy (Hoffmann, 2011). When these women are found to have issues with substance abuse, they must then focus on helping themselves and accepting help from others, so they can become healthy and give the best chance to their unborn children (Soby, 2006). It is not always easy for women to accept help or admit they have a problem, but that admission must be their first step (Soby, 2006). Once a person admits he or she has a problem, it is easier to tackle that problem and face it with the tools and techniques that can be taught by professionals (Soby, 2006). The goal of a teaching plan is to ensure that these women understand the damage they are doing to their unborn children, and that they are committed to making changes so they are no longer putting these children at risk of serious disability (Hoffmann, 2011).

Short and Long-Term Consequences

When it comes to the risks associated with substance abuse and pregnancy, there are both short-term and long-term issues to consider. In the short-term, substance abuse can cause spontaneous abortion and stillbirth, as well as premature birth (Soby, 2006). Longer term consequences can include both physical and mental impairments and disabilities for the child, along with problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome (Soby, 2006). Naturally, these are generally not risks that an expectant mother would normally take. However, they are risks that women who are pregnant and abusing substances frequently take (Soby, 2006). They may not realize the explicit danger of what they are doing, or they may simply be addicted and unable to stop (Hoffmann, 2011). Either way, the unborn child is not helped or even protected by the pregnant woman's dangerous behavior.

In order to mitigate the short- and long-term consequences of substance abuse in pregnancy, it is vital that women are treated for their addictions as soon as possible (Hoffmann, 2011). For some women that is unfortunately very late in the pregnancy, because women who are substance abusers are also less likely to seek out good medical care while they are pregnant (Hoffmann, 2011). Some of that comes simply from the lifestyle they often lead, but there is also a lack of money that stops many of them from seeing a doctor on a proper schedule. For women who are seen early in their pregnancies, though, there is a better chance of treating them successfully for substance abuse issues.

References

Hoffmann, J. (ed). (2011). Pregnancy and alcohol consumption. NY: NOVA Science Publishers.

Pregnancy and substance abuse. (2013). Medline Plus. U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancyandsubstanceabuse.html

Soby, J.M. (2006). Prenatal exposure to drugs/alcohol: Characteristics… READ MORE

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