There has been a drastic increase in the number of babies born with drug and alcohol addiction problems in Scotland, says report.
There has been a drastic increase in the number of babies born with drug and alcohol addiction problems in Scotland, says report.
According to the Scottish Sun, one in every 264 newborns in Scotland now suffer withdrawal symptoms as a result of junkie mums abusing deadly substances from heroin to cannabis.One in every 98 pregnant mums have admitted that they put their unborn child's life at risk by taking drugs during pregnancy, new figures unearthed by us show.
Scots Labor leader Iain Gray called for junkies who shoot up in front of their kids to have their children taken off them.
''If a child is fending for themselves to survive, and people around them are having sex and taking drugs in front of them, I think that is not an acceptable way for the child to be living,'' the Sun quoted Gray as saying.
''At the heart of the existing system is a presumption that it is better for the children to be with their mother and their birth family. That is wrong,'' he added.
There is 20 per cent risk of babies dying from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).
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A child suffering from NAS can experience tremors, high-pitched crying, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, sweating, seizures, delayed visual development and wobbly eyes.
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''It can take anything from 24 hours to a few days for a baby to detox from heroin and months for babies to detox from methadone,'' she added.
Gray's call for reform was also backed by kids' charity Barnardo's Scotland.
Director Martin Crewe said: ''If all support measures have failed, we have to consider the option of removing the child.''
Source-ANI
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