fetal fentanyl syndrome

 

I wrote about this the other day on my medical blog.

I am old enough to have had experience with heroin withdrawal in babies, low birth weight babies in heavy cigarette smokers, and with fetal defects from fetal alcohol syndrome and illicit drugs

and of course, another underreported story is the fetal damage in those smoking a lot of marijuana.

Scidaily article. and I wrote about it here.

CNN report here notes that it is worse in the first three months of pregnancy, leading to underweight babies who are at risk for all sorts of problems

“Our study drills down to look very specifically at a specific time point in pregnancy — the first trimester. We found a significant decrease in birth weight of 154 grams. In terms of pounds, it’s about a third of a pound,” she said. While one-third of a pound may not seem to be much, such slight decreases in weight have been linked to health problems as children grow, Bailey said. “Low birth weight is one of the strongest predictors of a child’s health and development long-term,” she said. “These kids are more prone to developmental delays, higher rates of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), learning disabilities, and have higher rates of emotional problems.”

full government report here. 

but like most reports, the problems tend to be vague since they lump together a parent smoking a joint or two on weekends with a parent constantly high and often imbibing other drugs including alcohol.

and of course, abuse and neglect of such children often lead to relatives or friends caring for them outside of official channels, so are probably underrerpoted.

JDVance call your office. We got problems.