AGENCIES SEEK HELP FOR BABIES BORN TO DRUG ADDICTS

Alberta babies being born addicted to drugs and damaged by booze consumed
by their moms during pregnancy can be saved with more health intervention,
say agencies trying to help end the despair.

"The cost is great to the child, the family and the community. It's such a
waste of life which is such a gift," Edmonton's Catholic Social Services
vice-president Mark Barylo said yesterday.

Barylo was commenting on an Alberta Health report released yesterday that
found almost 1,500 women in the province used street drugs while pregnant
between 1994 and 1996.

"The drug that seems to be used right now is cocaine," he said, adding the
numbers are probably even higher than the report suggests.

Nearly 8,000 of the women also reported drinking alcohol while pregnant.
Another 31,390 smoked tobacco.

Women caught up in drug and alcohol abuse, risky sexual behavior, street
life or the criminal justice system are more likely to harm their unborn
out of hopelessness, said Barylo.

"It's not just getting them off the drugs or the alcohol. They're trying to
deal with pride, with straightening out their lives," he said. "They figure
they're garbage - so if I'm garbage, I'll just put more garbage into me."

And many of the babies born to substance abusing moms are scooped up by
social services at great human and financial cost, said Barylo.

A baby born with fetal alcohol syndrome is estimated to cost taxpayers
about $1.7 million through the course of a lifetime, much of which can be
spent in foster or group homes, he said.

Though the study has prompted Alberta Health to work on developing
targetted intervention programs, it has to be done carefully, adds Bissell
Centre program manager Monique Nutter.

"If you're feeling worthless, a big public awareness campaign that points
the finger may only push the women further into the recesses," she said.

Fear, shame and guilt may also prompt many pregnant substance abusers to
hide their habits for fear their babies will be taken away by social services.

"It's frightening to ask for help for something that has been so demonized
in the last couple of years," said Nutter. "If you're dealing with living
on the street and often being brutalized and you're not adequately
nourished, it's probably difficult to not try and dull the pain somehow."