[kcvl]

Tell that to this child and the taxpayers who pay the bills.

Exposed to the drug in the womb and born addicted to crack cocaine, this child experiences severe withdrawal symptoms. Conservative estimates suggest that at least 11 percent of all newborns in the United States today were exposed in the womb to one or more illicit drugs. The number is even higher in urban areas. Birth and hospitalization of a normal newborn cost approximately $2,000. Birth and hospital care of a crack exposed neonate, with round-the-clock nursing, monitors, blood and urine tests, high-tech equipment and social service evaluations, costs $11,000. Who pays the bill? The government, since crack-addicted mothers are unlikely to carry insurance.

[kcvl]

sweat that envelops them as they go through withdrawal

Prenatally drug -exposed newborns cry more frequently than unexposed babies. This ‘at-risk’ baby suffering though moderate to severe withdrawal, was hard to console. Typically, these children, when held, tend to arch their backs, pull away and cry until they exhaust themselves. Experts note that these behaviors interfere with child-parent bonding. “The worst problem in working with these babies is that they have the jitters,” says Nancy Shatz, a San Francisco General nurse who works extensively with prenatally drug-exposed newborns. “They cry because they are in pain and suffering,” she observes. “They don’t even like to be touched.”

cocaine-exposed children are unable to deal with many different stimuli at once and tend to act out aggressively or withdraw completely when overstimulated

[Gilbo_3]

Im sure glad the WOsomeD prevented that child's pain /s

next time maybe the ninjas will shoot the mother before she gives birth...

[microgood]

Tell that to this child and the taxpayers who pay the bills.

Tell them what? Anyone that has any sense of care or compassion hates to see tragedies like this. Where we disagree is on how to solve the problem.

I remember I think it was somewhere in the South they were passing laws to test pregnant mothers in hospitals to see if they were using crack while pregnant.The prosecutors wanted to arrest the mothers, put them in jail until the child was born, and then take away the child. The courts struck it down. The hospitals could do it but could not share information to the police. That is the current state of the law.

The current laws allow unwed mothers to collect welfare and that has greatly fueled the problems in the inner city. That is the law, and these women are obeying it.

Most of the current problems we have in this country have been created by our government and the laws that they pass.

[robertpaulsen]

"Birth and hospital care of a crack exposed neonate, with round-the-clock nursing, monitors, blood and urine tests, high-tech equipment and social service evaluations, costs $11,000."

Drug use: The victimless crime.