Series: Meth: Shattering Lives In Northern Nevada

A three-month Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found that
methamphetamine's grip on the Truckee Meadows has become a stranglehold.

METH BABIES AT RISK FOR PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

Experts say that babies of methamphetamine-addicted mothers are at
risk of being born prematurely and having developmental disabilities,
ultimately forcing society to pay for their social service and
education programs, medical care and future legal troubles.

And in Nevada, meth addiction among pregnant females is growing.
Nearly 66 percent of pregnant females seeking treatment in
state-funded, drug-treatment programs last year listed meth as their
drug of choice.

Since 2001, the percentage of pregnant female drug users who are
abusing meth has grown more than 40 percent, which has caused federal
authorities to earmark more than $1 million this funding cycle for
state drug-treatment providers.

While some numbers of pregnant meth users are known, no one in Washoe
County tracks babies born with methamphetamine in their blood,
medical authorities say. But a new grant called Healthy Moms, Healthy
Babies has since earlier this year forced county medical staff to
record when a baby is born positive for meth, said Julie Pomi, a
public health nurse with the Washoe County Health District.

Pomi works with social workers called to homes where children are
abused or neglected. She examines children who are not doing well
physically due to neglect or injury €" often because their parents use meth.

"Meth is becoming an epidemic," she said. "At the very least, babies
born with meth in their systems will have speech or feeding problems,
but can be profoundly mentally retarded."

Dr. Carol Chervenak, a nationally recognized expert who lectures
about children and meth abuse, told a group of Reno professionals
this spring that meth can cause a placental tear from the uterus that
can devastate a child.

Some babies appear normal, she said, but can suffer withdrawal
symptoms and about 4 percent will need medical treatment. Meth
depletes dopamine in the brain and causes babies to become lethargic
and have difficulties sucking and swallowing. Some forget to breathe
when they sleep.

"We take for granted that babies know how to suck and swallow, but
meth damages that part in the brain that controls coordination,"
Chervenak said.

Becky Contos, spokeswoman for the Reno Step 2 program that provides
treatment and housing for pregnant women and mothers and their
children, said women have to be free of drugs at the time they are
admitted. Between 7 percent and 10 percent of Step 2 clients are
pregnant, and many of the total clients cite meth as their drug of choice.

"When you're dealing with a pregnant woman on drugs, two people are
involved," Contos said. "The less time babies are exposed to drugs in
the womb, the greater its chance of becoming a successful human being."

Chervenak said that studies have shown pregnant mice exposed to meth
spend less time nurturing and feeding their babies than rodents that
aren't exposed.

"The intensity of this addiction blinds the user to all other
responsibilities and other people, including children," she said.

Pomi and Chervenak said most pregnant meth addicts do not seek
prenatal care, increasing the baby's risk of health issues. Pomi said
pregnant meth addicts can become a burden on many public systems,
such as the 16-year-old girl on Medicaid who has been in and out of
juvenile detention.

In addition, her baby will likely be premature, so its hospital stay
will be longer, creating a higher medical bill. The baby will be
placed in foster care, causing the state to pay for its care and
ultimately use resources and time to find a way to reunite the child
with the family or find adoptive parents. The county's family drug
court is also involved with the process.

Because the child will have learning disabilities, schools will have
to spend more time and resources on the child. The child will also
likely have rage and depression that will have to be addressed by
therapists and expensive medications.

When the baby does get to be with its drug-addicted mother, the meth
will have made the baby irritated, hyper or "floppy," Pomi said.

"The babies are not consoled easily," she said. "It takes a lot to
comfort them, which can lead to child abuse by parents who already
have poor coping skills."

Some of the children she's examined have been burned from drug pipes
and had injuries due to sexual abuse.

"Parents give their child a bottle to feed them, they do their best,
but meth is all they care about," she said. "Kids are deprived of any
stimulation and wandering around when the adults are using. There's
not a lot of love."