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  • Essay / Jane and Sam: a case of prenatal drinking

    Just six weeks premature, thanks to a cesarean section, Sam was born. Requiring an airway and oxygen for breathing during delivery. Sam's Apgar score after being on oxygen for a minute was 5, his score increased to 8 after five minutes. His premature birth left Sam in the hospital for seventy-two hours before he was able to go home. Roberto and Jane were Sam's parents, they lived in a rural area and had very few friends; yet, they have family living near them. The medical report clearly states that Jane drank alcohol occasionally during her pregnancy, increasing during the third trimester, this happened after her husband (Roberto) was fired from his job. The length of maternity leave Jane received from her job was 12 weeks, but she plans to return to work sooner. Jane's mother offered to temporarily stay with her to help them for a while. Jane's cortisol levels were high due to her drinking throughout her pregnancy. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay High cortisol levels can be very harmful to the growing fetus, it can lead to miscarriages or the need for abortion. The effects of high cortisol levels have been found to impact the fetus, including: the need for abortion, slow development and growth of the fetus, low birth weight, problems with ability to attention as the child grows, and psychopathology and other illnesses in adulthood that may be chronic (Field and Diego, 2008). Jane's cortisol levels being too high during her pregnancy explains Sam's agitation. Sam may have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) due to Jane's drinking while pregnant ; However, some studies clearly indicate that alcohol exposure during pregnancy could lead to the development of alcohol-related brain and behavioral abnormalities, but are not normally diagnosed with FASD because these facial features abnormal are not shown (Warren and Foudin). There is not enough evidence for Sam's diagnosis of FASD. There is research that clearly shows the many health problems that premature babies are at risk of developing after a cesarean delivery (Berk, 2018). These infants require more care in terms of oxygen use than infants with normal births (Kamath et al, 2009 & Yakov et al, 2006). During Sam's premature birth and cesarean delivery, there may be a link between the underdevelopment of his lungs, this would give reasons why he is struggling and having difficulty with his breathing and breathing. I believe the stress level Jane and Roberto are feeling as new parents is high; on top of that, they are having financial difficulties, with Roberto having been made redundant and Jane on leave for her pregnancy. In the United States, when a woman takes maternity leave, the salary is only three-quarters of her normal salary (Geissler, 2005). According to Berk, “premature and economically disadvantaged babies require intensive intervention, and these interventions include parent training sessions as well as medical monitoring” (Berk, 2018). After reading the entire file, I noticed that nowhere was it stated that Jane and Roberto were taking childbirth or parenting classes, or that they made any reference to..