Last updated : July 14, 2025
We know that substance abuse destroys lives. Not just those of the people using drugs either. Families are destroyed every day because of the loss of income, debt incurred, and relationships that should be based on trust reaching the last straw and being demolished. The list could go on. There isn’t even a need to publish a statistic.
If your life hasn’t been adversely affected by someone you know who uses drugs, then, wow! Consider yourself extremely fortunate because drug addiction and abuse are a scourge on our nation that continues to grow worse.
There’s a specific group of our population, though, that is adversely affected by drug use and has no voice. According to information published by the National Institute for Children’s Health Quality (NICHQ), “more than 20,000 babies are born each year dependent on illegal or prescription drugs.” That number equates to one addicted baby born every twenty-five minutes. That fact should hit us in the gut like a ton of bricks, by the way.
Moreover, that dependency affects the infant’s health from the moment they take their first breath. For instance, neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) affects children born addicted to opiates—which a large number of these babies are.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome
NAS affects the body in many ways.
Symptoms include:
- Body shakes
- Convulsions
- Seizures
- Trouble sleeping
- Yawning excessively
- Twitching
- Rapid breathing
- Poor feeding
- Slow weight gain
- Excessive high-pitched crying
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Frequent sneezing, stuffy nose
Babies affected by NAS are at a higher risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) up until the age of one year. They can also suffer life-long effects.
They include:
- Seizures
- Cognitive or developmental delays, which include speech, learning, and memory
- Problems with motor movement
- Learning and behavioral problems
- Frequent ear infections
- Vision problems
Which drugs do the most harm?
Any substance abuse, which includes using marijuana, any stimulant, or prescription pain relievers, during pregnancy increases the risk of stillborn death by 2.2% according the the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
That said, there isn’t much data to support how dangerous it is to use marijuana while pregnant. Research to date indicates that marijuana can cause harm to a baby’s developing brain causing problems with attention, memory, problem-solving skills, and behavior later in life. Moreover, studies have shown that marijuana use during pregnancy puts a woman at double the risk of suffering a heart attack.
Amphetamine and methamphetamine use during pregnancy has the greatest association with acute heart failure putting users at nine times higher risk. Mothers-to-be who ingest these drugs are seven times more likely to suffer cardiac arrest. Moreover, the maternal death risk, overall, increases by three percent. These drugs are stimulants and increase heart rate and blood pressure.
Stroke risk increases when pregnant women use cocaine. Cocaine use is also associated with arrhythmias, otherwise known as abnormal heart rhythms.
Someone who abuses opioids could wind up with an infection of the heart valves. It’s called endocarditis and is life-threatening.
In light of the above information, is it worth even determining which drugs do the most harm? We’re talking about the lives of infants and their mothers here.
What will make a difference?
Physicians and healthcare workers are banding together to call for action. There is a need for additional types of medical care for pregnant women suffering from substance abuse issues. Due to the increased risk of heart-related problems—no matter from which drug the substance abuse stems—many believe that prenatal care needs to include high-risk pregnancy specialists and cardiologists. The intent is to identify and, thereby, curb an adverse outcome further down the road.
If you know someone pregnant and using drugs, express your concern for both them and their unborn child. It can be enough of a catalyst for them to seek help for their problem. If not for themselves at this point, then, for their baby for which they should be commended.
If their partner uses drugs, it can be extremely hard to abstain from using themselves. Be ready to offer assistance should they come to you for help escaping the situation. Hopefully, it will stimulate the partner to seek help for their substance abuse issues themselves.
As is every battle of the war on drugs, we win it by taking one step at a time. We may be surprised how much progress is made when we decide to get involved at a more personal level though. We need to see what happens when we take that step with our hand extended to grab onto another to give them a tug in the right direction. It shows someone cares and can flip on the light of hope.
And, even if it’s just a tiny glow, barely seen, down at the end of a very dark tunnel, that can be enough.
