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The meth problem that is running throw the country is causing a great strain on the Child Welfare Services. Children are being neglected and abused due to the use of meth. Children are being raised in meth labs, ingesting the toxic chemicals, gases and residue of meth. Not all children or infants exposed to meth will have problems. It all depends the amount of drugs done and how long of a period of time was the abuse.
The effects of meth on the babies and children.
- Babies may not like to be touched.
- Babies may have difficultly sucking.
- Birth defects.
- Low birth weight
- Increased muscle tone.
- Tremors or shaking.
- Irritability or excessive crying.
- Babies want to sleep most of the time.
- Children may have speech delays.
- Increased risk of hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder.
- Exhibit unprovoked fits of anger.
- Sensory integration issues
A lot of the above problems can be seen with other street drugs. We have a number of children come to us with the effects of drugs, or babies coming off drugs. We have received a baby two days old from the hospital, she was born with drugs in her system. We have seen a few toddlers dealing with the effects of drugs. You may see all or some of the difficulties listed above. After receiving therapy, love, a safe home, and patience, you and your child can learn to deal or overcome the set backs that they face due to the impact of drugs in their life.
The difficulties of meth to the foster care system is the length of treatment for the bio parents to get the chance to get their children back. Relapses are a problem for the system and the children are bounced back and forth.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
Albert Einstein
Below are links concerning the effects of meth on the children.
http://aia.berkeley.edu/media/pdf/shah_children_meth.pdf
http://aia.berkeley.edu/media/pdf/shah_pregnancy_infant_outcome_study.pdf
http://ssw.unc.edu/fcrp/fp/fp_vol9no2/meth.htm
