METH BABIES' STRUGGLE OUTLINED AT SEMINAR

A hush fell over the audience of about 40 social workers, child-advocate
volunteers and foster parents on Tuesday as they watched a film of a newborn
struggling with the consequences of her mother's drug addiction.

The baby shook, emitting a shrill, tight cry as she clawed at her face. She
held her body stiff. All are common symptoms of the syndrome caused by her
mother's abuse of methamphetamines and other drugs.

"These kids are punished their entire lives for what was done to them," said
Dr. Lynn Kinman.

The film was just one of the graphic explanations at the one-day seminar
organized by Court Appointed Special Advocates of Carson City, in conjunction
with Nevada Early Intervention Services.

The task force for the Fund for a Healthy Nevada, Soroptimist International and
Carson City sponsored the event, in collaboration with Nevada Division of Child
and Family Services and the Nevada Training Partnership.

As explained by Kinman, amphetamines cross the placenta and the barrier between
the mother and enter the baby's bloodstream, then easily cross its blood/brain
barrier to constrict blood flow and interfere with development.

Structural defects of the neural tube and forebrain occur when a woman uses
drugs during her first trimester. The development of the brain's white matter
is seriously affected during the second trimester, and by the third trimester,
connections between the neurons of the brain are affected, said Kinman, medical
director at Nevada Early Intervention Services in Reno.

Methamphetamines increase blood pressure and heart rate and cause blood vessels
to constrict. The resultant poor placental blood flow means the fetus doesn't
get sufficient oxygen. Maternal and fetal strokes, poor fetal growth, siezures
and fluid damage to vital organs like the kidneys are common.

Basic functions like the babies' breathing patterns are affected, and they're
more likely to die of sudden infant death syndrome, Kinman said.

Most drug-abusing mothers use a number of substances. Kinman said there's no
way to determine which drugs or combination of drugs are the primary cause of
problems.

Babies can and do get better with time and proper care, but the faulty
connections between neurons will not re-establish themselves.

A number of neurological symptoms like jerking, tremors and feeding problems
often subside in the first year. Long-term studies show the children have no
significant differences in cognitive, psychomotor scores or communication
skills when given proper care.

"I can't stress enough that the problems don't just come from prenatal
exposure," said Jennifer Andrews, licensed marital and family therapist. "The
proper postnatal care is critical.

"We can never take away the fact that the child was exposed prenatally to
drugs," she said. "But if we can get that child into a good environment, we can
make a difference."