TN - Mom of newborn with drugs in system arrested

Felony-Reckless Endnagerment. Those are the charges against 21 year old Jessica Whitaker who gave birth to her son in September.

At the time of the baby's birth a tox screen showed the baby had oxycontin and valium in his system. When confronted Whitaker admitted she'd used both drugs from the onset of her pregnancy and through to the birth.

Back in September child services did get involved and the DA did as well. They now have Whitaker locked up. The baby is on medication to control seizures.

Oh Dear Lord. There for the grace of God go I, BUT this girl could have received some kind of help. That poor baby had to go through some horrific withdrawls. I don't want to judge her as I consider 21 young and who knows what her home life is/was like. Throw in that whole addiction thing and it's just one big mess. A mess that's left an innocent baby sick and a new mother locked up. Which in the longrun may be for the better.


http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9019692

No way am I even excusing what this girl did. Plus, yes 21 is an adult. However I looked up this girl's Myspace. She hadn't been on since what would have been the beginning of her pregnancy.

Beautiful girl. Cheerleader. All American smiling kid. Da*n these drugs. Yes it is a choice, but they think since they're "just pills" it's no big deal. Oxycontin with our young folks here is a scourge. It's rampant and it's deadly.

Heck, I'm always ranting. Sorry. It's just so sad. Here's a young lady full of promise who aged ten years in a year. More importantly a baby son without a mother. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Hoping she gets help while she's locked up. Hoping they have good programs where she is going. Praying that little baby isn't suffering too much.

Filly said:

Felony-Reckless Endnagerment. Those are the charges against 21 year old Jessica Whitaker who gave birth to her son in September.

At the time of the baby's birth a tox screen showed the baby had oxycontin and valium in his system. When confronted Whitaker admitted she'd used both drugs from the onset of her pregnancy and through to the birth.

Back in September child services did get involved and the DA did as well. They now have Whitaker locked up. The baby is on medication to control seizures.

Oh Dear Lord. There for the grace of God go I, BUT this girl could have received some kind of help. That poor baby had to go through some horrific withdrawls. I don't want to judge her as I consider 21 young and who knows what her home life is/was like. Throw in that whole addiction thing and it's just one big mess. A mess that's left an innocent baby sick and a new mother locked up. Which in the longrun may be for the better.


http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=9019692

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I am not bashing the Mother, however at 21 years old she should know that what she ingests can affect her child for his entire life. I am glad to see that CS and the DA are holding her accountable and pray that this baby grows up with all the love and care he needs. IMO, if you can't give up harmful things during pregnancy and give your baby a chance it is abuse.

MOO

I just want to remind everyone that every single one of those drugs effected that baby's development in some insidious way. This child will not suddenly heal and grow up strong and straight. This little guy wlll almost certainly be dealing with some sort of deficit for the rest of his days--not just through school but through the nursing home at age 88. Those are my babies, my toddlers, my young kids, my teens, my young adults. Yes, they've grown and they each have special gifts. But so so much was stolen each time the birthmom swallowed another pill or smoked another crack pipe. Nothing takes the place of really fine early intervention programs. It's the bottom line best money we can all spend. Pay now for a few years or pay for 90.

I am happy on one hand to seem them holding a mother accountable for abusing her child before it is even born.

But on the other hand criminal charges in these types of situations may increase the number of women who do not prenatal care, and also increase the number of women who try to avoid giving birth in a hospital for fear of prosecution.

I assume they will force her into treatment if she wants a chance at getting custody back.

Missizzy said:

I just want to remind everyone that every single one of those drugs effected that baby's development in some insidious way. This child will not suddenly heal and grow up strong and straight. This little guy wlll almost certainly be dealing with some sort of deficit for the rest of his days--not just through school but through the nursing home at age 88. Those are my babies, my toddlers, my young kids, my teens, my young adults. Yes, they've grown and they each have special gifts. But so so much was stolen each time the birthmom swallowed another pill or smoked another crack pipe. Nothing takes the place of really fine early intervention programs. It's the bottom line best money we can all spend. Pay now for a few years or pay for 90.

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Thanks button was not enough. Every word true and so preventable. The ramifications of using drugs or alcohol during pregnancy are for a lifetime! A child's one lifetime :furious:

impatientredhead said:

I am happy on one hand to seem them holding a mother accountable for abusing her child before it is even born.

But on the other hand criminal charges in these types of situations may increase the number of women who do not prenatal care, and also increase the number of women who try to avoid giving birth in a hospital for fear of prosecution.

I assume they will force her into treatment if she wants a chance at getting custody back.

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or maybe if they are on drugs early in there pregnency, they will go get clean before it's too late

kbl8201 said:

or maybe if they are on drugs early in there pregnency, they will go get clean before it's too late

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In one of the many inpatient rehabs, with beds available, doctors on staff to deal with a pregnant woman in withdrawl, and programs in place to cover those costs?

It would be wonderful if it motivated them to get clean, but if it were that easy for them to get clean one would imagine causing unknown levels of damage to your child's developing brain would be equally if not more motivating.

moo

Turtles said:

I am not bashing the Mother, however at 21 years old she should know that what she ingests can affect her child for his entire life. I am glad to see that CS and the DA are holding her accountable and pray that this baby grows up with all the love and care he needs. IMO, if you can't give up harmful things during pregnancy and give your baby a chance it is abuse.

MOO

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I am so glad they are holding her accountable. Any person that endangers the life of a child should be held accountable imo.

Sheesh during my pregnancies I would never even take an aspirin for a headache because I knew whatever I took into my body would go to my baby.

Now she has left her child with seizures and no telling what other health issues. I want to know why in the heck she was even taking these meds at 21 years old anyway.

imo

It's about time!

They need to built lots more jails...and do this for ALL moms that deliver babies that test positive for illegal drugs! The repetitive nature of this crime needs to stop...moms need to stop spitting out brain damaged children one after another. The children ALL get a automatic life sentance

I for one am happy they are doing something about this. I work in labor and delivery and I see this all of the time. We get so many people doing drugs while pregnant and guess what they do, call social services who goes in and has a talk with the parents and lets baby go home with them. Its so disturbing how selfish some of these women are. I do understand addiction but these women dont even want to try to stop. They could care less and it breaks my heart for their child.

Amanda--Thank goodness they don't let every baby go home with a drug using mom. In my experience, my kids who were not allowed to leave the hospital after a positive tox screen but were instead placed in a "medically fragile" foster home, fared so much better. Not a single one of my kids who went home, avoided more abuse. Those children, lived on the streets with their Moms for 2-6 years and suffered all sorts of trauma. Everyone sent directly from the hospital to foster care has done extremely well. The damage is still there but they really benefitted. Yes, the foster care was very expensive but oh, it's paid off.

The saddest irony in life to me is that parents least equipped to deal with a child with disabilities and/or delay are the ones who end up with them because of their own foolish choices. IMO, these are the little ones we read about being abused, tortured, and murdered.

AmandaBrown23 said:

I for one am happy they are doing something about this. I work in labor and delivery and I see this all of the time. We get so many people doing drugs while pregnant and guess what they do, call social services who goes in and has a talk with the parents and lets baby go home with them. Its so disturbing how selfish some of these women are. I do understand addiction but these women dont even want to try to stop. They could care less and it breaks my heart for their child.

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I work in postpartum, and I could have written this post! I see too many kids withdrawing from drugs while "mom" goes outside to do more, and Children & Youth just shrugs their shoulders and walks away. And it isn't a one time, "oh I made a mistake" thing. It's multiple children, multiple partners, etc. It pi**es me off to no end.

kbl--Sad to say but Moms don't get time to heal before "it's too late". About 6 months before conception is too late. I'm not kidding. The first three months of pregnancy, while the cells are dividing at the speed of light is when so much of the damage is done. And we're just learning about the tremendous damage from a Dad's drug use. The sperm is actually damaged and compromised. This is why every single woman and man needs to be really cautious about drugs and drinking if they're of child-bearing age. A binge party before she even knows she's pregnant can destroy the baby's brain forever. I think it's safe to say that any alcohol or drug (legal or illicit) is a gamble, at best. It's a little like deciding not to wear your seat belt "just this once".

CP doesn't go away, IQ points just don't suddenly pop up, lungs don't often get stronger, vision and hearing don't come back, and sadly facial deformities are there forever. How I wish that every single teen in America would be required to work with disabled children for a few weeks. Everyone would benefit. The teens would have a wake-up call plus they'd learn some empathy. The children would love the attention. Society just might have some slightly more enlightened teens when they're making those decisions about sex and drugs.

Round them all up. They should have LE that just goes on the street and busts every pregnant addict they see.

While they're at it maybe they can pinpoint the trick that knocked them up. Bust them as well.

There is no way any female who is drug addicted and predisposes her baby to drugs can be a decent mother. Perhaps the law should designate they get an abortion.

Filly--You're treading on thin ice there, Girl. In many ways I want to say "Yes, a person who gets it!!" I'm going to go out on a limb for just a minute and weigh in on something very controversial. I adore my children. I can't imagine life without them. However, I'm pro-choice and I do parent a few for whom I wish their birth moms had considered that option. Now that they are here on earth and I'm their Mom, I will dedicate my life to them. But they will carry the scars of their birthmoms' drug use, prostitution, abuse, and their premature births with them FOREVER. That's the factor that people forget.

Many (not all) people who are anti-abortion jump up and down saying that there are adoptive families for every child. That is a flat out lie!! If there were, why would we have 300,000 plus waiting for homes. It's because those children are of color and/or have myriad special needs and/or are older and/or are groups of siblings. The blue eyed healthy white babies get snapped up in a heartbeat--at prices verging on the criminal. That's just not what happens for children of color or children with challenges.

That said, think about your comment about abortion. Oh, if I could hand out morning after pills. I'd be sitting in my wheelchair on the street corner!! I'd personally pay for drug using moms to terminate pregnancies in the first couple of weeks--if that's what they wanted. I've learned through experience that many drug using moms don't want to be pregnant but just don't have it together enough to get in and see someone at Planned Parenthood in time. They are too busy turning tricks or drug seeking.

But, how would you and I feel about our government telling us that we had to have an abortion due to the fact that we carried a specific gene, already had too many kids, or were overweight, smoked, or "older"--all risk factors for difficult pregnancies? I've thought about it thousands of times and come to the same conclusion. It's just not possible. We would be outraged if parameters of safety were set up by the government. A 39 year old woman could get pregnant but her 40 year old neighbor would get a notice that she had 30 days to terminate her pregnancy. 175 lbs. would be tolerated for a 5'4" woman but not 200 lbs. See?

We could start by offering low-cost and/or free birth control implants (some last 3 years) or permanent sterilization for women who choose that. We could vote for access to low cost/free abortions when there is a factor of drug use. And to bring up an issue that Impatientredhead brought up, we could remove punitive measures for any mother presenting herself for drug treatment who is pregnant.

Sorry to rant but you touched on a subject that I've been mulling over for 20 years. I honestly don't think that most mothers want to harm their babies. I think that most are exhibiting some "magical thinking" ie. it can't happen to me or he'll get better. See, he has all his little fingers and toes?

Or, I'll give you this....many just aren't thinking.

Sorry to rant at you as you know I love your posts and consider you a friend. It's merely that I WANT your idea to work but I know it won't.

(((hugs)))

I have no sympathy for this woman.
I was 20, heavily addicted to drugs...and I mean heavily. I got pregnant, and although it took me three tries, I quit. My first conversation with my doctor:
Doc: You're pregnant.
Me: I am addicted to amphetamines and need help.
Doc: Let's set you up with the social worker and I'll get you some handouts. Wait here.

It really wasn't that hard. The quitting was, but the initial steps to save my child's life were as easy as 8 words.
I am proabortion. (Not for myself, but I defend a woman's right to choose. My choice is life.)
I don't think that all druggies should abort, but I do think that we should start civil commitment for pregnant druggies. I'm sorry, but I do. If they want to destroy their own lives, that's fine. Once they become pregnant, it is not just their own body. Commit them civilly, or offer them the option of abortion. But letting them just stay pregnant and stay users is not helping anyone.

not_my_kids--I always assumed that you were a strong woman but I'm speechless. Thank you for sharing that very personal but very poignant story. And kudos to your doctor for being so welcoming and supportive. You are proof that the system can work.

I've watched my son get clean from meth and it ain't no walk in the park...plus he's a brittle diabetic. I have so much respect for people who do. One of my best friends was a meth addict when she learned that she was pregnant. Her family had money and they sent her to an inpatient clinic where she got clean and learned that she had bipolar. She got on meds and has stayed on them and stayed clean.

Her baby is now 13 and together, they run a very large and very successful small dog rescue group in Southern California. She's an intense gal and can be edgy. She tells me that she has to run fast to stay clean. I cannot tell you how many dogs she's rescued...1000s probably. So, she not only gave her baby girl the best start in life but she gives back to society every single day.

You guys are my heros and I'm not kidding one bit.

(((super hugs)))

Oh this is such a difficult subject, kudos to all for keeping things pleasant!

What gets me is that LE doesn't apply the law to every woman, just some. If we as a society are going to say that this is unacceptable then we must arrest/indict every woman whose baby tests + for drugs. Every woman every time. Not just some, some of the time.

The costs would be enormous. But the idea that some will get away with this behavior is outrageous.

Of course that woman that use would be less likely to get prenatal care creating all kinds of heartache too. I wish I had the answers, but this selective prosecution is utter nonsense.

chloes1 said:

Of course that woman that use would be less likely to get prenatal care creating all kinds of heartache too. I wish I had the answers, but this selective prosecution is utter nonsense.

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What I see time and time again is that there is very little prenatal care, if any at all. They basically get dropped off at the front door of the hospital, and an order is written for a tox screen- which tests for drugs. Then the baby is screened after birth (urine and meconium screening is done) and is started on abstinence scoring, which means that there is a list of things that we look for (and score) to check baby's withdrawl level. If it's very high, the child could get transferred to the NICU for further treatment. Some of the mothers learn from this, but the majority treat it as "free" babysitting while they get to continue to go out and get high.