Giving Up Drugs

Ask any woman and chances are she'll say that motherhood is the most fulfilling stage of her life. But some women deal with motherhood through damaging and addictive means.

Legendary rock act The Rolling Stones once dealt with this issue through the song "Mother's Little Helper." As years have passed, addiction among mothers has become a serious matter. The number of mothers admitted to treatment centers in Utah alone more than doubled in 2002. "Mother's little helpers" likewise have become more serious, going from prescription pills to dangerous drugs like crystal meth.

Clearly, these addictions can bring substantial damage to mothers and their family. In a study, it was found out that mothers with alcohol and drug addiction are more inclined to hurt their children. It also revealed that mothers who are drugs and alcohol dependent reacted more harshly to situations regarding the behavior of their kids. They often verbally abuse their child or worse physically hurt them.

What is more shocking is that these mothers were brought up by families who have dealt with drug and alcohol dependency. According to the study, there is substantial evidence that family history have influenced the drug and alcohol dependency of these mothers. In turn, this dependency has influence to the style of mothers in disciplining their kids. It even added that substance abuse is connected to domestic violence, thus the need to put a halt to this chain of resulting events.

What's more distressing is another recently conducted study revealing that drug abuse among women during pregnancy can negatively effect their babies' cognitive development.

But is a drug-dependent mother still has a good chance of mending her ways? According to Dr. Robert J. Ackerman who is the director of an addiction training institute, this is still possible, as long as there is a right amount of treatment and support to the drug user. Ackerman insists that there is a need for drug dependents to discover a fresh way to live. A normal life, however, will have to take on a new meaning especially for recovering drug users.

Everything is still possible for drug dependent mothers. They can still mend their ways. However, they have to be sure that they are ready to face a new world the moment they clean up their act. Mothers should be ready to take on this challenge, not just for her sake but more importantly, her children.