Advocacy issue

Drug affected babies

CHILD ADVOCACY typically refers to raising voice against matters related to children which are not
being raised. Child advocacy can be done at both micro level and mezzo level. At micro level it is
concerned with one children and at mezzo level it is concerned with group of children. There are child
advocates who are trying to prevent children from any harm and try to provide justice to children who
are being har5tmed by one or the other way. To be an effective Advocate, the principles and values of
Advocacy necessarily permeate everything you do. They are integral to your sense of self, your identity
and how you conduct your life.

The primary goal of child advocacy is to elevate the voice of youth. This means more than empowering
youth to speak out on their own behalf. It means more than faithfully replaying their words. The
standard to aspire to is articulated in an African proverb: "Don't speak about us, without us." It means
speaking together with youth about youth.

Advocacy is often described as a process of empowerment, giving power to others. Advocacy can be
more appropriately viewed as assisting children and youth in finding their own power from within and
teaching them to use it effectively.

Child advocacy centers' provide a child-friendly, safe and neutral location in which law enforcement and
Child Protective Services investigators may conduct and observe forensic interviews with children who
are alleged victims of crimes, and where the child and non-offending family members receive support,
crisis intervention and referrals for mental health and medical treatment.

Drug affected babies

During pregnancy there is direct affect on the fetus. If you use marijuana or crystal meth, your fetus also
feels the impact of these dangerous drugs. And if you are addicted to cocaine -- also called coke, snow, or
blow -- you're not only putting your own life on the line, but you are risking the health of your unborn baby..
The consequences of using cocaine include heart attacks, respiratory failure, strokes, and seizures. And these
life-threatening health problems can also be passed to an unborn baby. Marijuana in pregnancy are
inconclusive, because many women who smoke marijuana also use tobacco and alcohol. Smoking marijuana
increases the levels of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the blood, which reduces the oxygen supply
to the baby. Smoking marijuana during pregnancy can increase the chance of miscarriage, low birth weight,
premature births, developmental delays, and behavioral and learning problems. During the early months of
pregnancy cocaine exposure may increase the risk of miscarriage. Later in pregnancy, cocaine use can cause
placental abruption, which can lead to severe bleeding, preterm birth, and fetal death. OTIS also states that
the risk of birth defects appears to be greater when the mother has used cocaine frequently during pregnancy.
NICHD Research Seeks Clues into the Causes of Alcohol- and Drug-Related Birth Defects. Their studies
shows that every 33 infant died because of drug abuse. The NICHD is aware that the term "birth defects"
carries negative undertones and that the term does not reflect the many abilities and talents of those
impacted by these problems. Communities are discussing alternative terms for describing these birth
problems. Until a consensus is reached, and with the goal of highlighting research on this important
topic, this spotlight uses the term to describe health problems present at birth.