A new study conducted at Duke University has theorized that children of attentive mothers have a much better chance at fighting off the development of drug addiction, even if they have a genetic history of the disorder in their family.

It’s a theory in its early stages – the study was conducted using rats as participants – but the baby rats in the study who had affectionate and attentive mothers exhibited changes in their genetic activity and were later better able to avoid the temptation of morphine. The key was the increased production of a molecule in the immune system called Interleukin-10.

What is the definition of an attentive mother? In general, it means lots of hands-on touching: kisses, hugs, and physical contact in the early years. Some naturally had more attentive mothers while other mothers were more affectionate when their pups were taken out of the cage for a brief period and returned.

Staci Bilbo is an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke and led the study. She said: “As soon as they’re returned, she checks them out vigorously, grooming the pups and cleaning them.”

Implications of the Study

What does this potentially mean for humans? Though it’s no guarantee that attentive mothering will protect a child from developing an issue with drug addiction – it should be noted that all the rat pups initially preferred the morphine but that most of those who had attentive mothers eventually lost interest in pursuing more morphine – it may encourage mothers to be more affectionate with their kids, especially mothers in recovery. It’s not the first study to support the fact that children need love and attention from their parents for healthy and happy development, but it is one of the first studies to suggest that that early love and support can help children fight off drug addiction later in life.

Mothers in Recovery

Many mothers who go through drug rehab often take parenting classes as a part of their treatment plan. These classes can teach mothers learn the basics about parenting including what their children need to thrive and how they can help their children heal from the issues that may have developed during active addiction.

What do you think? Do you think that how mothers relate to their children can affect their predilection for drug addiction later in life? Or do you think that each child’s reaction to experimental drug abuse will vary according to their personality and other circumstances? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you think.

Nile Rodgers is not a household name, but he is the man behind a number of musical acts and performance groups that are some of the most well-known in American culture and around the world. A prominent producer in the 1970s and 1980s, Rodgers played a big part in creating the pop music that dominates the airwaves today. Working with acts including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Madonna, Grace Jones and others, Rodgers has recently written a memoir called Le Freak: An Upside Down Story of Family, Disco, and Destiny that talks about his experiences with these stars – and with drug addiction.

At 59 years old, Rodgers is a survivor of both cancer and drug addiction. He has been clean and sober for more than 17 years now and though he has no thought of relapse and fully admits that addiction takes and destroys lives, he also says that he would never tell another person not to abuse drugs.

Says Rodgers: “It’s hard for me because I’m not judgmental of other people when it comes to drugs, because to be honest with you, I loved it. I didn’t quit because I didn’t love it, I quit because it was killing me and it impaired my ability to do something that I loved even more [producing and playing music]. So I don’t really want to be a hypocrite. I would never tell a person not to do drugs, because people clean it up or they don’t. They [get help] when they’re ready to do it.”

Even close friends who are clearly struggling with drug addiction – friends like Sly Stone – do not make Rodgers feel that there is any need to intervene.

Rodgers says: “When I look at Sly, I just see the great musical genius that I absolutely love and adore. And the fact that he has chosen this path near the end of his life, and unfortunately he’s been in this situation for a long time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen him and hung out with him and wanted to play, and unfortunately he was unable to do that, but he chose that. And I got to respect the fact that. That’s his life.”

What do you think? Is it important to take a stand and voice your concerns when you see someone you care about dying of drug addiction and/ or alcoholism? Is it your responsibility to step in or is it better to provide the addict or alcoholic with ongoing – if somewhat distanced – friendship? Leave us a comment and let us know your opinion.

In 1992, Cornelia Whitner was sentenced to eight years in jail because her baby tested positive for cocaine at birth. Since then, a nationwide debate has raged about the legality of the South Carolina court’s actions that sentenced her. Should Whitner have received a criminal punishment for her drug addiction, a medical disease and not technically a crime? Or are her actions criminal because they amount to child endangerment, just as if she had given a child outside of her womb a drug of addiction like cocaine?

Very few people seem to agree on this issue. There are so many points to discuss that it’s almost difficult to know which one comes first. Here are just a few:

1. Drug addiction is a medical disease and not a moral failing. It’s also not a “crime” that anyone has ever stood trial for. While patients with an active drug addiction may have stood before a judge on counts of drug possession or for the behavior they chose while under the influence, the act of putting a drug into their body was never among the charges. That changed in this case – and only in potential other cases like this.
2. When a fetus becomes a child and therefore a person with rights. This is disputed in every state across the country, and it has a significant impact on this debate. If a child is not a child until after birth then there is no endangerment that the mother can inflict during pregnancy that is actionable. If a child becomes a child in the womb, at what point exactly and when does the mother become responsible for protecting that child above the dictates of her disease?
3. If a baby testing positive for a drug – and not necessarily being addicted to any substance – is a punishable offense, what else deserves prosecution? Should mothers who smoke cigarettes while they are pregnant receive judicial punishment? What about those who drink alcohol? At what point should they be prosecuted? After one cigarette or upon discovery of regular smoking? After just one drink or regular, daily drinking?
4. With the risk of prosecution comes the increased risk that mothers who know they are living with an addiction will not seek the help and care that they and their growing child needs. If living with an active addiction is a crime, and continuing to feed that addiction during pregnancy is a crime, then is it also a crime to risk pregnancy with unprotected sex during addiction? Will mothers even seek out the prenatal care that they and their child needs?
5. One statistic states that black women are 10 times as likely to be prosecuted for abusing drugs during pregnancy than are white women. Is this a racist issue or is it a true concern for all babies?

Though few would say that it’s okay to take any kind of drug or alcohol during pregnancy and continue to live with an active drug addiction without seeking treatment both before and after the baby is born, incarceration that takes that mother away from the child and limits access to drug treatment is good for no one.

What do you think?

One mother, Julia Saker, was so intent on stopping her daughter, Tabitha, from buying drugs
that she physically restrained her. Unfortunately for her, this led to charges and, ultimately, a jail sentence of 12 months for false imprisonment of her daughter.

The mother wasn’t alone in her cause, determination and crime. The daughter’s boyfriend also admitted to false imprisonment of the daughter and he received 18 months in jail as a result.

It seems that the Julia and Tabitha’s boyfriend were trying to stop Tabitha from climbing out of a window at home with the intention of going to meet a drug dealer who was waiting for her outside. To keep her in the house, they tied her up with tape and pushed a sock in her mouth. What they didn’t know is that Tabitha had already called for emergency help and the whole incident was heard by the operator and caught on tape. Police were sent to the scene and the two were arrested immediately.

When the word spread about Julia’s arrest and jailing, people were outraged. Here was a mother doing everything she could to help her daughter fight drug addiction and stop getting high and while the specifics of her methods may seem a little harsh, it’s a life or death situation. What’s a mother supposed to do?

Julia’s lawyers may be appealing the decision. It’s clear that her motive was not malicious even if the judge finds fault in her actions, and the hope is that the sentence will be lessened as a result.

What do you think? Should Julia have gotten such a stiff sentence for trying to help her daughter? Do you think she should have had to suffer a harsher penalty for binding her daughter as she did?

It’s a difficult spot for a parent to be in: you see your child making life threatening choices and you know that he or she is about to leave to go get more drugs and potentially get into an accident or overdose as a result. Do you stand by and let it happen? Do you step in and take a stand? What if your child denies you, blows you off and walks out? In general, the best way to handle this situation is an intervention and an offer of drug rehab. If your child is over the age of 18 and still refuses to get help, it’s time to cut ties. You can’t stay and enable them. It’s far better for them to go out into the world and suffer the consequences of their addiction. It’s the only way that they’ll get the treatment they need.

If you would like to speak to someone about drug rehab for a woman you care about, contact us at The Orchid today. We can help.

Studies have shown that those in critical condition who have loved ones praying for them tend to heal more quickly and more completely. Prayer is powerful. It can be a healing force in the person praying and in those who are the subject of those prayers. But can prayer fight drug addiction? Can the healing powers of prayer be applied to drug addiction? Will cocaine release its hold on its victim? Will alcoholism evaporate in the face of prayer?

Personal Prayer and the Struggle for Balance

Many who family members of addicts and women in recovery find that prayer offers a balance to their lives. Taking a moment to pray before going to bed can help them unwind and sleep better. Praying before starting the day has the same benefit of quieting mind offered by meditation. Pulling back from stressful or angering situations to breathe a prayer and give the issue to God has helped thousands avoid relapse. And there are a number of mothers, wives, and sisters of addicts and alcoholics who feel quite sure that their dedicated prayer helped their loved one to find a drug rehab, complete the program successfully and remain clean and sober.

Prayer as a Battle Tactic in the War on Drug Addiction

In some communities, church members and pastors are fighting back against the drug addiction that they see hurting not only the addicts but the family members of those addicts. To them, having faith in God means that asking God for assistance with the problem is a natural next step. Rather than praying alone, some community members are banding together to pray en force.

In Lancaster in Fairfield County, Pastor Tom Alexander of Fairfield Christian Church did just that: he and other local religious leaders joined together with church members and other community groups like Prevention Works for a Drug Free Fairfield County to pray against the rising issues of heroin addiction and prescription drug addiction in their town.

Says Pastor Alexander: “A lot of the pastors in the area have noticed how the community has done a great job of working together with the (Fairfield County) Opiate Task Force and other groups and it just occurred to us that we ought to get together and pray.”

Backing up Prayer with Action: Choosing Drug Addiction Treatment

Prayer is thought, and though thought is powerful, it is not enough on its own to heal a chronic disorder like addiction. Medical detox, ongoing medical care and follow-up, addiction counseling, personal therapy, the support of other addicts, group counseling, sober living – these things add up to a successful battle against the disease. Prayer may help your loved one to choose drug addiction treatment but an intervention can go a long way, too. Prayer may sustain you during drug rehab and recovery. But action on the part of the addict and dedication to the ongoing progress of their growth in recovery is the best way for an addict or alcoholic to get – and stay – clean and sober.

Call us today if you would like to take action and enroll in our drug and alcohol addiction treatment program for women here at The Orchid.