Pediatric nursing practices are far from what they were thirty to forty years ago. Many nurseries across the country care for clientele of meth addicted mothers and fathers. These children show signs of jitteriness, odd behaviors, and a lack of direction. It is not to say that all children come from parents addicted to crystal meth but the ones that are hooked on this terrible street drug really take away from being the role models they are meant to be for their children.
The unfortunate truth is that the majority of primary caseloads in these situations are children that are exposed to parents that are drug addicts. The effects of such poor upbringing show in a variety of ways. This includes exposure to the drug while still in the womb, contamination from toxic chemicals used in the home based manufacturing of crystal meth, fires, and explosions. Other things include the long term effects of neglecting a child by an addicted and obsessed parent, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Many of the homes that manufacture crystal meth are filthy and disgusting. They are often flooded and surrounded by drug paraphernalia and pornography. The scary thing is that chemicals used to create crystal meth are being found in children’s toy chests and diaper bags.
A former county sheriff stated that he’s entered homes completely filled to the waist with garbage and trash. They resemble homes that look like “crack dens”; where only the homeless could fathom the thought of living in such an environment. The sheriff also stated that he’s gone into kitchens where there were jars of meth oil and byproduct in the cupboards and refrigerator but no food, milk, or water to be found. This is a very sad vision but the unfortunate truth.
The crystal meth epidemic began in the western part of the United States and is now reaching all big cities and rural towns. But nothing can compare to the heartbreaking toll this epidemic has touched like the small cities and towns of America’s heartland. These places include Iowa, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Indiana, and Kentucky. Since 2001, authorities and federal agents have dismantled more than 50,000 crystal meth labs. Out of the 50,000 labs, roughly 30% of them were from small mom and pop operations and drug rehab centers like Narconon are seeing a spike in admissions.
The long lasting problem in this situation is that thousands and thousands of children across the United States have been taken away from their crystal meth using parents. They have in turn been placed with close relatives as legal guardians or placed into already overloaded foster care systems. Many have been injured, dozens have actually died from exploding crystal meth labs, and thousands have been born with traces of crystal meth in their body.
Dr. Rizwan Shah, a pediatrician physician at the Blank Children’s Hospital of Des Moines, Iowa first encountered a meth exposed child in 1993. Since then, she has cared for and studied more than 500 cases of children exposed to crystal meth as babies or youngsters. The prognosis for meth exposed children varies so she tries very hard to prevent them from being stereotyped. Some suffer very grave brain damage and others experience developmental problems and behaviors. The only things she is one hundred percent sure of is that pregnant women who use crystal meth do harm their fetuses and babies. She explains that the brain gets hijacked by crystal meth. She describes patterns of being over stimulated and disrupted sleep cycles among infants. Other things noticed are hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder among children exposed to crystal meth.
Dr. Shah recalls one case where a two year old boy had to be fed through a tube to the stomach because of meth exposure as a fetus. It left the infant unable to swallow food properly. The mothers Dr. Shah sees often evoke of the power of crystal meth. They get bursts of energy and a rapid way to lose weight. Some of these addicts try to be good mothers but when one is high on crystal meth, you generally don’t take care of yourself and those around you. What is commonly seen are older kids in the family being and acting as the adults in this situation. They lose their childhood to become caretakers in the family.
Ottumwa is a small town in Iowa which started the first Moms Off Meth group in the country. It’s a self help program for mothers trying to confront their crystal meth addiction and to put order back into their lives. Sue Armstrong, a member of this group had children ages three, four, and nine when she started using crystal meth. But after seven years of crystal meth use, she had to place her children with relatives. But through the help of this program, Armstrong now has custody of her children once again. It takes time to beat crystal meth addiction. The clock is ticking as parents go through the treatment process. The best interests of a child may be on a collision course with the parent’s treatment. The focus needs to be on the children. It is common to hear that no matter how horrendous and terrible a parent’s lifestyle is and no matter how neglectful they may become, parents always think their kids are better off with them. But this is simply not the case.
An effective response requires coordinated action by law enforcement officials, hazardous material cleanup crews, social and health service agencies, substance abuse programs, the legal court system, and legislation. But this epidemic is expanding during a time of massive budget cuts and perennial scarcity of foster homes. Many children are now being taken in by their grandparents who may lack the stamina and savvy to deal with children these days. Several states have now toughened sentences in cases where meth is manufactured in the presence of minors. In this day and age, it is hard to be optimistic with these current circumstances but with proper resources, meth exposed children can have a future.
