SPECTRUM 2007-2008

It was not an ordinary evening out with my friends because this particular night continued to an after party. While at this party, I became uncomfortable, due to all the drug use that was going on. When looking for a bathroom, I opened a bedroom door by mistake. There was someone I knew well. Her belly was large with her third child. She pushed a syringe filled with cocaine in her vein and claimed, “This is the first time.”? I shut the door and left, feeling sick to my stomach. She is the youngest sister of nine siblings, many of whom are drug addicts. I remember when she was nineteen with no children, telling me she was not going to be like her siblings. She ended up going down the hardest road of all. I will never forget the image of this woman, shooting drugs and pregnant. Unfortunately, this is not a shocking sight in poor neighborhoods. The acceptance of drug use among pregnant women is a cycle that is passed on throughout generations. By implementing community-based programs in neighborhoods, we can provide support for pregnant addicts, therefore offering an alternative intervention.

Within every city, there are geographical neighborhoods that are divided into North, South, East, West, and Central. Another division exists between the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. People in the poverty level do not have support services readily available. Therefore, it is crucial to have a neighborhood-based program that offers services twenty four hours a day. It is the difference between a pregnant addict choosing drugs or choosing help. If an alternative is not accessible, her fears of legal consequences will prevent her from getting the help she needs.

A study by Martha A. Jessup, in the Journal of Drug Issues, notes that the barriers a pregnant addict faces are more complex emotionally due to the guilt, fear, and judgments of health care facilities (Jessup et al par. 19). For instance, one woman testified, “Knowing that they were gonna test me for drugs, that’s what scared me….That’s why I didn’t go to prenatal care….I didn’t want to lose my baby”? (Emily, a 23-year-old heroin user). Another testimony from the same article came from Ivy, a 22-year-old mother of two, “… they told me if I come three times dirty, that…when I had my baby, they was gonna take my baby. And then the second time I started [to go to prenatal care], I didn’t go back no more”? (par. 24). The most important preventative measure in treating pregnant women who abuse drugs is not to isolate them, but to help them to do what is right for their unborn children.

Susan LaCroix wrote an article for The Nation magazine. She reported that one way of dealing with addiction has been to jail the pregnant woman who tests positive for drugs. If she refuses treatment, her newborn will be taken away from her and placed in child protection. This separation will interfere with the mother-infant bonding and create a decrease of prenatal care and safe births. In fact, this fear causes an increase in what San Francisco deputy city attorney Lori Giorgi calls “‘toilet-bowl babies’-babies born at home, in toilets and bathtubs and on kitchen floors, without medical attention”? (LaCroix par. 13). However, if given the opportunity, these women will choose treatment over jail and loss of their newborn. Ann O’Riely, Director of Gamily and Children’s Services for the San Francisco Department of Social Services, feels that “if these mothers were walking away from treatment, I might feel differently,” adding, “But they’re not walking away from treatment-they’re walking away from waiting lists” (LaCroix par. 16). However, every city has one treatment facilities; they are large and have a generalized treatment plan. Pregnant addicts have special needs. Therefore, having smaller community-based programs will allow for an immediate solution to a crucial situation.

The complex problem of what to do with pregnant addicts has been at the center of a long debate. Adam Nossiter of The New York Times reported that district attorney Greg L. Gambril believes that pregnant addicts should be prosecuted (par. 9). He also believes that it is his duty to protect the mother and the child. “Protecting”? means he prosecutes pregnant women who tests positive for drugs. Gambril is not alone in his views on how to deal with this problem. However, pregnant women and drug abuse laws vary from state to state. The San Francisco Chronicle reported, “Since 1990, prosecutors in at least 30 states have used a variety of criminal laws to bring charges against pregnant women who abuse drugs or alcohol. Some, as in South Carolina, have used child-endangerment statutes, while others turned to the drug laws, charging that women were delivering drugs through the umbilical cord”? (”Child-Abuse”? par.4). For example, mother-to-be Brenda Vaughan of Washington was arrested for forging $800 worth of checks. The prosecutor recommended probation for a first offense, but she tested positive for cocaine use. The judge, knowing she tested positive for drugs, sentenced her to jail to protect the fetus (Sachs par. 4). I disagree with this judge because he allowed his personal opinion to affect the outcome for the crime charged. As outraged as we may feel toward women addicts, we need to remember what addiction is. It is a disease of the brain.

Journalist Stephani Hatch refers to a study on “Economic Stressors, Social Integration, and Drug Use Among Women In An Inner City Community”? which indicates the correlation between developed and under-developed coping skills was a factor in drug use. Hatch claims, “This information [taken from the study] may [help] inform community-based substance treatment programs by improving approaches to the development of instrumental and emotional support and coping skills”?(par 2). Women who developed coping skills and had strong bonds within the community refrained from using illicit drugs, despite all the stressors and hardships.

Another component of having community-based programs in neighborhoods is the services offered can help the family as a whole. Jennifer A. Bailey wrote an article in Birth: Issues in Prenatal Care, which makes a strong point as to how the father plays an important role in pregnant woman’s drug use and/or relapse. Data taken from a study at the “Seattle Social Development Project”? reports that “Many of the women who [where the father continued drug use] desisted from substance use while pregnant returned to use after their child was born”? (Bailey). Therefore, it is crucial to achieve the best outcome by treating the family as a whole whenever possible.

In order to treat the pregnant addict and her family, we need help ready and available. In addition, we need to hold the neighborhood accountable for what are acceptable and non-acceptable behaviors. One of the contributing problems is that neighborhoods have changed. They used to consist of generations of families that lived together within the community. There was an accountability that everyone was held to. For example, the neighborhood cop knew everyone’s name and what child belonged to what family. The neighborhood cop is part of the community and is a visual reminder of respect for the law. Everyone looked out for each other. In fact, that is why we see so many churches in a city because churches are a great example of a community-based organization. Being held accountable gave people a sense of extended family and a place to belong. The modern neighborhood has changed. Families come and go. Therefore, community-based programs would serve as a foundation within every neighborhood, bringing back a sense of belonging and accountability in that neighborhood.

One local program in Northern Minnesota uses that accountability as it targets women’s issues on many levels. Women’s Community Development Organization (WCDO) is a valued non-profit organization that has helped women since 1986. A woman who enters the two-year program will have her needs assessed. Assessment of her needs is the first step to helping her. She may be homeless or have mental health or abuse issues that need to be addressed first. According to the WCDO Website, “Staff is available to participants between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.”? In addition, a caretaker is on call twenty-four hours a day, and access to staff is available at anytime (WCDO). This is an excellent example of the kind of availability that is needed. A participant in this two-year program receives help with any obstacles she needs to overcome. She is also held accountable for adhering to the program’s rules. A participant must abstain from substance use and work closely with her advocate. She must attend workshops, keep appointments, and follow through with her goals. Services offered range from housing, addiction rehabilitation, mental health, safety issues, child custody, parenting classes, or other services needed to aid in family preservation. The result is a positive life change with new skills for women and their children to build on. However, six-month-long waiting lists prevent immediate help for desperate women. In the past year, over 110 families have been helped. The success rate of women that complete the program is high. However, the program loses women because of long waiting lists. We need more neighborhood based programs, so the waiting list barrier can be resolved.

In conclusion, history shows that community-based programs have served as a strong force in unifying and supporting women at risk. Unfortunately, we cannot help women who do not want to be helped, and for those women the letter of the law applies. We can make a difference by getting into the deepest corners of our neighborhoods and reaching out to those who want help. There is an epidemic of methamphetamine and crack-cocaine abuse that needs to be addressed. These types of drugs in particular are the reason for over crowding our prisons at an alarming rate. The over powering effects of these drugs are causing in unborn fetuses life-altering problems and death. Therefore, if we can help the mother get clean from drug abuse, her recovery will spread throughout the family. In short, to jail pregnant women who are addicts is not the answer. Community-based programs work, because they help people help themselves. Community-based accountability programs will help pregnant women who are addicts and work toward family preservation. A solution needs to happen on the ground level in neighborhoods where help will be as easy to reach out for as drugs.

Works Cited

Bailey, Jennifer A., et. al. “Men’s and Women’s Patterns of Substance Abuse Around Pregnancy.”? Birth: Issues in Prenatal Care. Mar. 2008: 50-59, 10. EBSCO MegaFILE. Lake Superior College Library. 3 Apr. 2008. <http://www.epnet.com>.

“Child-Abuse Law Applies to Fetus/Court upholds conviction for drug use during pregnancy.”? San Francisco Chronicle. 31 Oct.1997: A10. Opposing ViewpointsResource Center. Gale. Lake Superior College Library. 5 Apr. 2008. <http://www.gale.com>.

Hatch, Stephani. “Economic Stressors, Social Integration, and Drug Use Among Women In An Inner City Community.”? Journal of Drug Issues. Spring 2007: 37: 257. EBSCO MegaFILE. Lake Superior College Library. 5 Apr. 2008. <http://www.epnet.com>.

Jessup, Martha A., et. al. “Extrinsic Barriers to Substance Abuse Treatment Among Pregnant Drug Dependent Women.”? Journal of Drug Issues . Spring 2003: 285- 304, 20. MasterFILE Premier. Lake Superior College Library. 2 Apr. 2008. <http://www.epnet.com >.

LaCroix, Susan. “Birth of a bad idea: jailing mothers for drug abuse.”? The Nation. May 1989: 585(3). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Lake Superior College Library. 5 Apr. 2008. <http://www.gale.com >.

Nossiter, Adam. “Rural Alabama County Cracks Down on Pregnant Drug Users.”?

The New York Times. 15 Mar. 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center.

Gale. Lake Superior College Library. 7 Apr. 2008. <http://www.gale.com>.

Sachs, Andrea. “Here come the pregnancy police; mothers of drug-exposed infants face legal punishment.”? Time. 22 May 1989:104(2). Opposing Viewpoints

Resource Center. Gale. Lake Superior College Library. 7 Apr. 2008. <http://www.gale.com >.

Women’s Community Development Organization. 8 Apr. 2008. <http:/www.wthc.org>.