While there is general agreement that women should not drink excessively during pregnancy, debate has continued over whether there is a safe limit and, if so, at what level it should be set. Women have a right to clear, accurate information on which to make choices about their alcohol consumption. Midwives may also need support where they have concerns about individual women who may be drinking to excess.
It is a mother’s responsibility to love and nurture a child while it is in her womb. A mother that endangers the well-being and life of her child as well as themselves should not be allowed to parent that child after it is born. On the other side of the coin, how can a mother that has used abused drugs throughout her pregnancy take care of a baby if she is going to be high all the time? She will not all of a sudden get a conscience after the child is born and decide to become a good, loving, nurturing parent. It did not happen during the nine months of pregnancy, it wouldn’t happen after the child is born.
Also, with the child being born deformed and mentally handicapped, there is way this mother is capable of providing adequate care. The mother will more than likely suffer a lot of guilt at seeing what she has done to her baby. A special needs baby will need a lot of care which will also put a lot of emotional strain on the mother, which will lead to increased drug use. I think the right thing to do would be to have responsible relatives look after the baby until the mother can enter some type of substance abuse treatment which can often take years......
