Infant Drug Exposure Story

One in ten infants has prenatal exposure to drugs. The effects of this exposure are different in each child. Some impacted infants may continue with life long problems. Below is a list of the most common types of drugs and their impact on infants.

Cocaine Exposed Infant

1. Will experience withdrawal in 7-14 days after birth
2. On-going symptoms after the initial withdrawal phase include:
   1. stiffness
   2. irritability
   3. doesn't awaken to eat
   4. jerking
   5. feeding problems – difficult to feed, difficulty sucking, refusing to feed
   6. rapid respirations
   7. gastric distress – colicky behavior (pulling legs up, irritable after being fed, hard to comfort)

Heroin/Methadone Exposed Infant

1. Will experience withdrawal 24-48 hours after birth
2. On-going symptoms after the initial withdrawal phase include:
   1. frantic cry
   2. tremors
   3. stiffness (limbs especially)
   4. rapid respirations
   5. sweaty skin
   6. difficulty sleeping
   7. difficulty sucking
   8. frequent watery stools
   9. excoriated bottom (raw diaper rash)
   10. gastric distress (colicky behavior)

Methamphetamine Exposed Infant

1. Withdrawal 1-14 days after birth
2. On-going symptoms after initial withdrawal phase:
   1. limp
   2. lethargic
   3. after lethargic phase may have increased muscle tone or mixed tone (stiffness/limpness)
   4. irritability
   5. feeding problems (difficulty sucking or sounds like a vigorous suck but not getting a lot of fluid)
   6. gastric problems
   7. droopy eyes
   8. thick tongue

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome may occur with as little as one drink per day.

1. Facial abnormalities
   Short eye slits
   Droopy eyelids
   Small, squinty or wide-spaced eyes
   Crossed eyes
   Thin upper lip
2. Small for gestational age – usually doesn't catch up in size to children of the same age
3. Nose abnormalities
   Small up-turned nose
   Up-turned nostrils
   Flat wide nose bridge
   Flattening between the base of the nose and the upper lip
   Small head
4. Failure to thrive is very common
5. Consistent deficits in language, motor, learning – decreased IQ, problems in memory attention or judgment as child gets older
6. Poor eye hand coordination
7. Other possible abnormalities include hip dislocation, heart and kidney defects, club foot
8. Note: there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy

Smoking

1. More apt to have a spontaneous abortion
2. Pre-term birth more frequent
3. Small for gestational age
4. Smaller head circumference
5. Decreased auditory, language and cognitive performance
6. Lower IQ
7. Increased incidence of asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia
8. Increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome

Marijuana

1. Strong association of multiple substance abuse when using marijuana, especially alcohol
2. Lower IQ scores may occur with heavy marijuana use prenatally but studies are inconclusive.
3. Increased tremulousness
4. High-pitched cry
5. May exhibit some neurologic delays in the first year of life that may persist into school-age resulting in poorer academic performance.

Note:
All drug-exposed infants may demonstrate atypical social interactions, glazed look to eyes, inability to look at caregiver, may be hypersensitive (easily startled, may be irritable due to too much environmental stimuli).

Keep in mind some infants have multiple exposure to a variety of drugs while in uterus. Any combination of all of the above may occur.

Mike's Story

Mike's mother began using drugs when she was 10. At age 38, she was raped and conceived Mike. She continued using crack and drinking alcohol excessively in the first 3 months of her pregnancy. She began prenatal care in the 4th month.

Mike was delivered by C section and had a seizure at birth. He spent a night in the NICU.

Mike was enrolled in SafeStart at two months. He was very sensitive to light and sound. He needed a lot of swaddling. At 5 months of age, Mike was placed in foster care because both his mother and step father were using drugs.

Although his mother was otherwise attentive to Mike when she returned from rehab and Mike was returned to her, at about 18 months of age, she became less involved. Fortunately, his stepfather took a lot of interest and bonded with him. Over the next year or so, Mike's mother was in and out of rehab. But his stepdad successfully applied for "kinship provider" status.

Mike graduated from SafeStart into Head Start and continues to do well. He and his stepdad are great together.

Tina's Story

My story begins on May 18, 2006. My daughter, Jordan, was just 2 days old. My daughter, Jami-Rae, was 19 months old. It was on this day that my whole world was shattered with heartbreak and grief, when in all actuality it should have been filled with joy and happiness. You see, on this particular day, our daughters were taken from my boyfriend and me by CYS because our daughter, Jordan, was born cocaine positive thus bringing us to Early Head Start-SafeStart. They spent almost two years in foster care before being reunified with us.

My boyfriend went thru two months of outpatient treatment for drugs and alcohol. I on the other hand did 7 months of outpatient treatment for cocaine use. Our Therapeutic Family Coach was extremely supportive throughout the whole 3 year ordeal we endured with treatment, Children and Youth Services and the other outside agencies we worked with. She always had encouraging words for us during our home visits and while we volunteered in the classroom. During our treatment, she always asked how things were going with the sessions and encouraged us to continue with them, that eventually we would be thru with the treatment sessions and we could get on with our lives. She was always and still is very supportive.

Our volunteering in the classroom allowed us to become closer with our children, strengthening our parent/child bond. Not having the girls at home really put a heavy strain on that relationship, especially with our newborn, Jordan. There were times when she wanted nothing to do with us, not really knowing us, which was a very devastating feeling which I do not want to go thru again. After a time she warmed up to us and began to look forward to our visits at school, for which I was grateful for Sandy and the Early Head Start-SafeStart teachers for allowing us to start volunteering so that we could spend the extra time with our girls.

Finally, our visitations with our girls got reinstated. It was around this time that I started attending Parent Committee and received an invitation for Policy Council, which I also joined and am still an active voting member of to this date. Getting our daughters returned to my boyfriend and I was our biggest and most exciting accomplishment! They came home for good on March 28, 2008, after almost 2 long years in foster care! I feel this program has helped us to change because of many positive reasons. First, they helped us to straighten our lives out by being more responsible about our children. They were with us each and every step of the way, encouraging us when we stumbled, supporting our decisions thru talking with us, giving advice when it was needed and giving us the resources to use along the way. Everyone in this agency has a very positive outlook on everything, which eventually rubs off onto whoever they are around. They seemed more like our family to us than agencies that deal with CYS.

Because of the therapeutic approach in Early Head Start-SafeStart both girls transitioned out of the program and into Head Start at age 3 on development level without any delays and with their drug impact symptoms gone. In all honesty, I would recommend the Early Head Start-SafeStart program. The teachers and other staff members treat the children as if they were their own and give them love and comfort and the special bond that children need and many do not receive. Not only are they all drug and alcohol impacted but they are also neglected in many ways, and so Early Head Start-SafeStart gives them a loving and nurturing, as well as safe environment in which to flourish and grow and to gain trust in again. They have the knowledge and resources to help reunite parents with their children as well as provide therapies for the kids, whether it is speech, physical therapy or just to have a therapist observe the children.

I have been asked on several occasions to lead parents and staff members in either a LVHC or IMIL activity for Parent Committee meetings and Policy Council. I have also participated in the HSMS review as part of the Board as well as Policy Council. I am an active volunteer and enjoy coming to the classrooms to spend time with the children doing activities with them.

Again I want to extend my gratitude to all of the wonderful people I have had the honor to work with throughout the past 3 years!! You are more like family to me than anything else, and to me family is the most sacred gift of all!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart...for believing in me and giving me advice when I needed it. Also for bringing us closer to our children than we ever were during the past 3 years.