Every 19 minutes a child in the US is born with an opioid addiction that they inherited from their drug-addicted mother. Due to an increase in technology more attention has been put on fetal health care and women. Drugs have become easier to obtain and cheaper to buy which has led to the skyrocketing of illicit drug use throughout the years. Many women have become victim to addiction that not even pregnancy can stop. Substance abuse during pregnancy is extremely harmful to the fetus, helpful programs are non-existent, and hospitals are overfilled and overworked. Substance abuse during pregnancy leads to serious and sometimes fatal side effects to infants. The first months of pregnancy are crucial to the development of the fetus, so even brief …show more content…
Existing child welfare and addiction treatment programs are often already pushed to the limit. Treatment options for pregnant women are often nonexistent or undesirable, for reasons such as enforced separation from children, excessive distance from home, reliance on male-centered models, inadequate obstetrical services, and the woman's inability to pay for services (Beckman & Amaro, 1986; Kumpfer, 1991). Society needs to view drug use as a public health problem requiring compassion and understanding. Dealing with drug use in a harsh way would be ineffective and should be treated like a mental illness would. Treating drug addiction as a criminal act has been proven ineffective and harmful. Many women don’t seek help because don’t have enough money and they fear they will be separated from their child. Previously the courts have tried to charge drug addicted pregnant women with child abuse and manslaughter, but since the fetus isn’t technically considered a child the charges didn’t stick. Involuntary detention in treatment programs provide punishment, rehabilitation, and protection for the infant. When the women are committed without their consent, the state is essentially taking custody of the child before it is ever born which can create ethical and legal