By David Joel Miller, MS, Licensed Therapist & Licensed Counselor.

Being around Meth users is bad for children.

Just read another study that reports on another problem for children of meth users. Like we needed another study to tell us that using Meth is bad for both parents and their children. We know Meth use is bad, just we may not yet know how bad and in what ways. Still, this study caught my eye for several reasons.

This study looked not at Newborns but at toddler age children of Meth users. It found parental Meth use affected these toddlers in some ways we had not looked for before.

These kids show an abnormal stress response. This will have an impact on these kids for the rest of their lives.

We have long known that the mother’s drug use during pregnancy can and does affect the child.

Alcohol is the easiest case in which to see this. We started out thinking that above a certain point alcohol could damage the fetus. For a long time, we talked about safe levels of alcohol use and how much alcohol consumption did it take to result in “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.”

This concept, that some was safe and you had to drink a lot to harm the fetus, has been modified as we found problems in children whose mothers drank smaller amounts of alcohol and still those children showed long-term problems. We now referred to these problems as “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder” in recognition that any alcohol can affect the unborn child. We also now believe that high blood concentrations of alcohol on anyone drinking occasion, known as binge drinking, can result in damage even if the pregnant woman drinks moderately or not at all. Binge drinking harms both the mother and the unborn child.

What does this have to do with children of Meth users?

For one thing, we believe that the brain of the unborn child is heavily influenced by the chemicals in the mother’s bloodstream. What damage is done depends on which of the various structures in the brain and nervous system are being formed when the mother drinks or uses.

The fetus is experiencing a higher dose of the drug than the mother because the liver of the fetus is not well-developed. The drug passes through the placenta to the fetus and then has to return to the mother to circulate through her bloodstream and eventually be removed by the mother’s liver.

My experience clinically, and there seems to be research that bears this out, is that mothers who used Meth during pregnancy have more children with long-term learning disabilities than women who abstain from drugs during pregnancy.

This brings into question if Meth and possible Cocaine affects the unborn what effects could other drugs have?

Mothers who use depressants like Heroin appear to have children with one set of learning and behavioral problems. Children of stimulant abusers have a different set of problems.

This makes me wonder what the risks are for the children of women who consume these highly caffeinated energy drinks.

We also know that many of these drugs have larger more amplified effects on the unborn if there is alcohol in the mother’s bloodstream. This is a case of 2 plus 2 being 6 or 7 when it comes to creating harm for the unborn.

Where this new study expanded our knowledge of the effects of parent drug use on children was the evaluation of continuing stress on the children who had been exposed to Meth.

What they found was that this combination of pre-birth exposure to Meth and ongoing stress in the family resulted in toddlers who had greatly exaggerated or changed responses to stress even when outside the home.

The implication here is that the cumulative effects of Maternal drug use and then stress in the mother or family’s life after the birth magnifies the problems for the child.

All this argues for the critical need for more drug abuse prevention and treatment for women during their child producing years and for treatment to help parents of young children cope with stress and provide a less stressful environment for the child.

We can help the mother at this critical time or we can plan on building more special education classrooms, jails, prison, and mental hospitals for these kids later down the road.

I know what I think the better and more cost-effective path would be, but I doubt that the people who pay the bills for treatment will see it that way.

Getting tough on sick people is a lot easier to sell than dollars for prevention.

Here is wishing for a better and happier future for all of us and the children who come after us.

David Joel Miller, LMFT, LPCC

Staying connected with David Joel Miller

Seven David Joel Miller Books are available now!

My newest book is now available. It was my opportunity to try on a new genre. I’ve been working on this book for several years, but now seem like the right time to publish it.

Story Bureau.

Story Bureau is a thrilling Dystopian Post-Apocalyptic adventure in the Surviving the Apocalypse series.

Baldwin struggles to survive life in a post-apocalyptic world where the government controls everything.

As society collapses and his family gets plunged into poverty, Baldwin takes a job in the capital city, working for a government agency called the Story Bureau. He discovers the Story Bureau is not a benign news outlet but a sinister government plot to manipulate society.

Bumps on the Road of Life. Whether you struggle with anxiety, depression, low motivation, or addiction, you can recover. Bumps on the Road of Life is the story of how people get off track and how to get your life out of the ditch.

Dark Family Secrets: Doris wants to get her life back, but small-town prejudice could shatter her dreams.

Casino Robbery Arthur Mitchell escapes the trauma of watching his girlfriend die. But the killers know he’s a witness and want him dead.

Planned Accidents  The second Arthur Mitchell and Plutus mystery.

Letters from the Dead: The third in the Arthur Mitchell mystery series.

What would you do if you found a letter to a detective describing a crime and you knew the writer and detective were dead, and you could be next?

Sasquatch. Three things about us, you should know. One, we have seen the past. Two, we’re trapped there. Three, I don’t know if we’ll ever get back to our own time.

For these and my upcoming books; please visit my Author Page – David Joel Miller

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