After birth: child and parent's needs

New born babies are demanding and tiring. A parent who is additionally vulnerable through their substance use problems is likely to need additional support from all agencies involved in their care. This not only supports the parent but also ensures the best parenting possible for the child. Any problems that arise can be identified early with appropriate intervention before it reaches crisis point.

Children born to mothers using alcohol or drugs problematically throughout pregnancy may well experience withdrawal symptoms after birth. In addition, depending on the substance and the extent to which it has affected the foetus (if at all), there may well be physical and behavioural differences stemming from the substance use. Social workers need to be able to understand such differences within a context that encompasses knowledge of substances and their effects on the foetus. They also need to be able to facilitate and advocate for more support over a longer period of time from a range of health and social care professionals to ensure the child receives the care it needs.Supporting the parent has obvious benefits for supporting the child. Coordinated parenting support from a range of multi-disciplinary agencies is essential at this time for the sake of both the parent and for the welfare of the child. One of the criticisms levelled at social work through recent enquiries into failures of the child protection system has been the lack of partnership and communication between agencies. The Effective Interventions Unit has produced a guide to ensuring multidisciplinary care of drug users pre and post pregnancy. This can be downloaded from their website at www.drugmisuse.isdscotland.org/eiu. The site has links to other useful documents including Good practice guidance for working with Children and Families affected by Substance Misuse: Getting our Priorities Right (Scottish Executive 2003).

Children suffering FASD
Children who suffer FASD have a range of additional needs. These will change depending on their age and rate of development. Plant (2004) summarises current research that suggests these children have problems forming relationships with their parent or carer. In addition, concentration can be difficult for them so one to one attention is best and clear instructions need repeating continually. One of the key factors in working with FASD affected children is ensuring the people involved with the child, eg. teachers, youth workers, carers, etc are fully informed about FASD as soon as possible. This will avoid the child being labelled as ‘bad’ because they are not concentrating or remembering what they’ve been taught. In addition children with FASD may have no sense of time, or an understanding of risk and danger. Consider the challenges this poses a parent in supervising their child. In adolescence self esteem can be an issue and the young person needs to learn practical skills wherever possible, eg. cooking, decision making etc, in order to maximise their independence. Some FASD affected children may never become independent which places considerable burden on the parents.

Given these challenges FASD affected children need as much stability in their home environment as possible and parents need as much support as possible, including respite care in order to allow them to continue caring for their children.

References and sources
Plant, M.L. (2004) ‘Parental alcohol misuse: implications for child placements.’ In: R.Phillips (ed.) Children exposed to parental substance misuse. Implications for family placement. London: BAAF

Introduction | Alcohol drugs and the menstrual cycle | Alcohol and the foetus
Drugs and the foetus | Male fertility and reproductive disorders
Website links and further reading