ng fetal abuse can accomplish is Deborah Zimmerman who was accused and charged with trying to kill her six-month daughter before she was born. Her daughter was born with a blood-alcohol level of 0.199 when delivered. That is almost twice the level to make an adult legally drunk. She was born with facial abnormalities, which include a compressed nose and wide set eyes. She was charged with homicide and reckless injury. Another case took place in Manitoba, Canada. The judge ordered the woman, who was addicted to sniffing solvents, into a drug treatment faculty until her baby was born. She had been sniffing paint thinner, glue and other solvents for eight years. Her two other children had already suffered neurological damage because of it.Researchers are finding more and more potential disabilities and health problems in infants born to drug-abusing mothers. (Chisholm 1998) Sniffing solvents causes mental retardation. Alcohol causes abnormally low weight, small length at birth, small head circumference, and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome causes growth deficiency, physical abnormalities, and central nervous system dysfunction. Marijuana causes increased crying, low birth weight/ small length, difficulty eating or sleeping, and spitting up between feedings. Heroin causes low birth weight, increased crying, and difficulty eating or sleeping. LSD causes behavior problems as the child ages and violent temper tantrums. Women who abuse drugs are more likely to be poor and have improper nutrition. They usually lack pre-natal care and are at risk for domestic violence. A lot of times they also abuse more then just one kind of drug.The worst drug that a mother can abuse is crack. When a pregnant mother takes a hit of crack cocaine, the fetus loses sufficient blood and air, and suffocates briefly. The mother is high for about twenty minutes while the cocaine stays in the fetus’s system for about two weeks. In the womb the child...
