Prenatal Development Essay

In the U. S, some cases have been reported of pregnant women having been jailed after being accused of attempting to kill the fetus using deadly weapons (Prindle et al. Illicit drugs have been found to have adverse effects on the psychological pattern of the mother, making them hate the unborn child to the extent of terminating the pregnancy. Therefore, this paper will focus on the effects of drug abuse and why it should be addressed by public health in the U. S, to enhance prenatal health. Also, a pregnant mother may develop severe mental illness resulting from drug addiction. Hence, the expectant mother may engage in violent behaviors, which may lead even to the loss of the unborn baby. All in all, drug and substance abuse have subtle effects on the neural behavior of the infant.