Debate Alcohol and illicit Drugs

Question: Write about theDebate for Alcohol and illicit Drugs. Answer: Expectant Mothers who abuse Alcohol and/or Illicit Drugs Should be Subject to Mandatory Reporting Requirements for Child Abuse Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to participate in this debate. I would like to begin by commending you for bringing this topic. Prenatal and antenatal care has been a major issue of concern in healthcare. So, without much ado, I would like to go straight to the point and express that I fully support the motion. I am for the opinion that pregnant mothers who abuse alcohol should be subjected to a mandatory reporting requirement for cases of child abuse (Yeo, Crandell Jones-Vessey 2016). Even though prenatal care should not be forced on anyone, it is necessary to take such measures because of the good of the fetus and the mother as well. The first reason why pregnant mothers using alcohol and other related drugs should be compelled to report is because it can give them an opportunity to learn about the dangers of such drugs to the life of the unborn child. Many parents are not aware that the use of such drugs during pregnancy is very risky because it can cause lifelong challenges to them and the fetus. To the mother, substance abuse during pregnancy can result into poor weight gain and the abruption of the placenta. Worse still, the behavior can cause many challenges to the fetus such as still birth, miscarriage, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASDs). A child with FASDs has physical, mental and behavioral anomalies like small head size, poor coordination, speech delays, shorter body size, low body weight, poor memory, hyperactivity, low IQ, hearing, and vision problems (van der Wulp, Hoving de Vries 2015). These are important information that should be known by all pregnant mothers. Besides, I support the mandatory reporting by the pregnant mothers abusing alcohol and other illicit drugs because it can give them a chance to acquire the necessary medical services aimed at protecting the life of the child. When a pregnant mother visits a healthcare facility for antenatal care, she can get to be screened and tested for alcohol and drug use and related disorders. If is established that she has been engaging in drug use, she should be urged to stop doing so because it can continue exposing the fetus to the aforementioned dangers (Fitzpatrick, Latimer, Ferreira, Carter, Oscar, Martiniuk, Watkins Elliott 2015). At the same time, the healthcare providers can identify, at an earlier time, the most appropriate medical intervention and treatments to provide so as to protect the health of the unborn child. Last, but not least, mandatory reporting should be encouraged because it can enable the pregnant women to acquire counseling skills on how to behave during the entire pregnancy period. It is no doubt that many women are not aware that alcohol consumption can be dangerous to the fetus at any time during pregnancy (Wright, Terplan, Ondersma, Boyce, Yonkers, Chang Creanga 2016). At the same time, women do not know that even small quantities of alcohol, be it beer, wine or spirit, used during pregnancy can be disastrous to the fetus. So, when obliged to report to the authorities, the pregnant mothers do not necessarily get punished, but only get an opportunity to enjoy counseling services for her own good and that of the unborn child (Gardiner, Gutierrez, Luo, Davies, Savage, Bakhireva Perroneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Bizzozero 2016). Having said all these, I would like to point out that threats or actual arrest, prosecution and eventual detention of pregnant women can instill fear in women and prevent them from engaging in drug abuse during the pregnancy period. However, the nurses delivering prenatal care should not violate the law, and ethical codes of conduct governing their practice (O'Keeffe, Kearney, McCarthy, Khashan, Greene, North, Poston, McCowan, Baker, Dekker Walker 2015). All issues of informed consent and confidentiality should not be contravened, unless it becomes inevitably necessary to so for the sake of the life of the pregnant woman and the fetus. This can enable the nurses to collaborate with the law enforcers to contribute to the fight against alcohol and drug abuse by the pregnant women. References Fitzpatrick, J.P., Latimer, J., Ferreira, M.L., Carter, M., Oscar, J., Martiniuk, A.L., Watkins, R.E. and Elliott, E.J., 2015. Prevalence and patterns of alcohol use in pregnancy in remote Western Australian communities: The Lililwan Project. Drug and alcohol review, 34(3), pp.329-339. Gardiner, A.S., Gutierrez, H.L., Luo, L., Davies, S., Savage, D.D., Bakhireva, L.N. and Perroneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Bizzozero, N.I., 2016. Alcohol Use During Pregnancy is Associated with Specific Alterations in MicroRNA Levels in Maternal Serum. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40(4), pp.826-837. O'Keeffe, L.M., Kearney, P.M., McCarthy, F.P., Khashan, A.S., Greene, R.A., North, R.A., Poston, L., McCowan, L.M., Baker, P.N., Dekker, G.A. and Walker, J.J., 2015. Prevalence and predictors of alcohol use during pregnancy: findings from international multicentre cohort studies. BMJ open, 5(7), p.e006323. van der Wulp, N.Y., Hoving, C. de Vries, H., 2015. Partners Influences and Other Correlates of Prenatal Alcohol Use. Maternal and child health journal, 19(4), pp.908-916. Wright, T.E., Terplan, M., Ondersma, S.J., Boyce, C., Yonkers, K., Chang, G. and Creanga, A.A., 2016. The role of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in the perinatal period. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology. 28(5), pp.257-287 Yeo, S., Crandell, J.L. and Jones-Vessey, K., 2016. Adequacy of prenatal care and gestational weight gain. Journal of Women's Health, 25(2), pp.117-123.