Man Charged By Police After His Newborn Was Tested Positive For Drugs

A man was charged last Friday after his newborn child was tested positive for exposure to dangerous drugs back in December.

Blue Earth County Human Services Child Protection reports that the child was tested positive for amphetamines and opiates after birth. The mother of the child was tested positive for her use of drugs of opiate family.

The man who is now facing legal charges is Daniel Gerald Sturdivant. Authorities report the 41-year-old man allegedly told them he was worried about his partner’s use of methamphetamine and that he even forbade her to use the drug while in her pregnancy.

County Officials report Sturdivant laments that he could not restrict his spouse since he was usually away for work. His time away from home lasted for about one week.

Besides limiting the money the mother had for her drug use, Sturdivant didn’t do anything to stop the mother, authorities say. According to the report, the mother admitted to health officials in September that she was addicted to methamphetamine and she continually smoked methamphetamine in her second trimester of pregnancy.

The police say that the baby still had to remain at hospital because of the withdrawal symptoms he was experiencing because of his mother’s continual drug use. The baby will possibly be transferred to Rochester for further treatment of withdrawls.

The charges against Sturdivant are felony exposure of drugs to a child, child endangerment, and child neglect, KTOE reports.

The experts from WebMD say use of any drugs during pregnancy can be fatal.

“For instance, babies who are exposed to cocaine have a tendency to have smaller heads that indicate a lower IQ. Cocaine-exposed babies have a higher risk of birth defects that impact the urinary tract or heart. Cocaine may also cause a stroke in an unborn fetus, resulting in brain damage or even death.”

The use of cocaine or methamphetamine increases the risk of miscarriages in early pregnancy, while in the later stages, these illicit drugs may induce pre-term labor and low birth weight. The babies born from drug-addicted mothers are irritable and difficult to feed.

Drug abuse could lead to pregnancy pic.twitter.com/dXnBLpojQO

— Meth'd up (@TraplordzDanny) April 24, 2015

Addiction Search documents that a mother taking illegal drugs during her pregnancy increases her chance of acquiring diseases such as anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases.

Addiction Search also writes that most drugs cross the placenta, the organ that provides nourishment to the baby. Some of these drugs may even cause direct toxic or poisonous effets. In worst cases, the prolonged use may create a child who is born with a drug addiction.

During her pregnancy, a woman addicted to drugs must make active efforts to change her way of living. Though withdrawals can be hard and addiction already is a grave problem, pregnant women need to take active steps to combat her drug addiction for her and her child’s welfare.

Most of the drugs do not cause direct deformities but they can stunt the growth of the child and lead to abnormally low birth weight in babies.

The case of Daniel Gerald Sturdivant is a serious one. It raises a question about what could he have done more, and seeing the case as it is, he could have certainly done a lot more than just restricting her access to money. He could have consulted a physician or been stricter to his wife regarding her drug abuse. Sure, it causes severe physical traumas and withdrawal effects, but these usually last for a few weeks. He could have taken his partner to addiction treatment program and addiction counseling.

The idea of bringing the babies into the world is exciting, but aren’t parents being unfair when they are using or allowing to use any kind of substance that can affect the future of the unborn?

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