STATE TAKES NEWBORN WHO HAD COCAINE IN SYSTEM

A Santa Fe woman was forced to surrender custody of her newborn at St.
Vincent Hospital on Friday after the baby boy tested positive for cocaine,
police said.

"I feel so terrible," the baby's mother, 29-year-old Nicole Sena, said in a
telephone interview Wednesday.

"This baby is only a week old," she said. "I just don't know why I did it.
The only thing I can tell you is weakness. Being at my age, I should
already know better. I don't have any excuses."

Hospital staff alerted both Santa Fe police and the state's Child
Protective Services on Friday after the infant's blood and urine reportedly
tested positive for cocaine.

Santa Fe police immediately awarded emergency custody of the infant to the
state's Children, Youth and Families Department, which has placed the baby
in foster care, according to police documents.

"We made the determination that for the child's safety, we authorized (the
state) to take custody," Deputy Police Chief Beverly Lennen said. "There
was an issue of other (drug) use but that has not been confirmed."

Romaine Serna of the Children, Youth and Families Department said New
Mexico's Children's Code prohibits her from discussing specific cases.

However, Serna said, substance abuse is a significant problem for families
involved in the state's child-welfare system.

"Unfortunately, you don't know how the drugs have affected the baby until
later on in life," Serna said. "That baby may look perfect, but you don't
see the damage until the baby starts to grow."

Dr. Andrew Hsi of University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque said New
Mexico doctors continue to deliver babies who have been exposed to cocaine
or other drugs.

"It's real common -- common in the sense that studies by the (state's
Department of Health show) that 3 percent of babies born in this state have
been exposed to cocaine during some time of their mother's pregnancy," said
Hsi, also an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico.

"If we're worried about driving while intoxicated (in New Mexico), then I
think we really need to be worried about parenting while intoxicated," he said.

Lennen said Santa Fe police investigate between five and 10 cases a year in
which a baby is either born addicted to drugs or has traces of drugs in his
or her system.

In July, the state also took custody of a baby born at Espa=F1ola Hospital
who tested positive for cocaine.

According to the Children, Youth and Families Department, before a baby
exposed to drugs can be returned to the parents, a home visit must be done,
and the mother or both parents may have to get substance-abuse treatment.
If the parents can't stop using drugs, the department then would seek to
terminate parental rights in court. "This is the last straw for me," said
Sena, who has two other children, ages 6 and 8. "I'm serious. I'll never
touch drugs again."

Sena said she worked as a service station cashier until she left the job
just before she was due to have the baby. Although Santa Fe police said
Sena used drugs "in various fashions" during her pregnancy, Sena said she
only consumed cocaine the day she gave birth.

Sena said that on Dec. 20 -- the day she gave birth -- she encountered old
friends who offered her cocaine, which she took. She also said she smoked
more than one cigarette she later learned had been dipped in "heroin oil."

"I used to be a big user of drugs a long time ago," Sena said. "I hadn't
used during my pregnancy." Sena said she became sick after taking the drugs
and started to walk to the hospital. Police documents show that Sena
flagged down a police officer near the intersection of Cerrillos Road and
St. Michael's Drive, and the officer took Sena to the hospital.

At the hospital, blood and urine samples revealed that both Sena and her
baby, named Estevan, tested positive for cocaine.

"The baby did not even cry when the blood was drawn (from its heel), and he
did not appear to be alert or responsive to both verbal and physical
stimuli," a police report states. "These are indicators that a baby may
have drugs in their system." Sena said she made a mistake she's trying to
fix, both for herself and her children. She said she's trying to enroll in
a drug rehabilitation program in Albuquerque and is already attending
counseling.

"If I could turn back time," Sena said, "I wish I would have never touched
drugs. Never."