How Addiction Affects Pregnancy, Children, and Future Generations

Young "adults" use THC, opioids, and stimulants, which enhance sexual perception, resulting in sexual activity much earlier (compared to past generations), often resulting in unplanned pregnancies.

The pregnant, addicted mother is at risk of intrauterine growth restriction, preterm labor, and/or fetal death.

Newborn babies exposed to opioids in utero develop opioid withdrawal symptoms, called Fetal Abstinence Syndrome (FAS), which requires hospitalization and often years of medical care, leading to a huge family and state fiscal deficit (1). References: 1. Patrick SW, Schumacher RE, Benneyworth BD, Krans EE, McAllister JM, Davis MM. Neonatal abstinence syndrome and associated health care expenditures: United States, 2000-2009. JAMA 2012; 307(18): 1934–1940. -Dr. Bogdan Nowicki