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apparent writes "CTV investigates the effects of crystal meth on babies - CTV News - 6pm July 14, 2005

Bill Good: Police took drastic measures to stop a drug addict speeding through the streets of Vancouver in a stolen car.

Pamela Martin: They had to ram his vehicle. The takedown happened at 6th and Yukon just after midnight-- the suspect believed to be high on crystal meth was immediately apprehended and taken into custody. Police also found stolen electronics-- no word yet on if any charges have been laid.
Bill Good: Our investigation into the use of crystal meth in BC has focused on the drug and its users.

Pamela Martin: Tonight, we're looking at those who have been affected by the drug use of others.
Michelle Brunoro, now, on the innocent victims-- babies born to women who used meth during pregnancy.

Reporter: Every time Jenny Jones looks at her 18-month-old daughter Erin she feels grateful.
Jenny Jones: I'm lucky my baby's alive. I'm lucky I have my baby. I'm lucky I have people to fight for my baby.

Reporter: Lucky because for the first four-and-a-half months of her pregnancy Jenny was high on crystal meth every day. She'd steal cars and scrounge through dumpsters for anything she could sell for drugs.

Jenny Jones: So we put her bike in the bush and then we'd climb in the bin. So, we'd have our bikes hid out there, go into the bin, get some great stuff or whatever and get out, okay, it's time to get out, sittin' there, smoke some drugs, high on.

Reporter: Jenny was entrenched in this lifestyle when she found out she was going to be a mom.
Jenny Jones: I've been jumping fences and stealing cars and getting beat up and how could the baby be okay? I really thought I was probably going to kill myself. So, it's just a miracle that I met somebody that made me believe that it would be okay if I quit now.

Reporter: It took two more weeks before she abandoned meth for good. Her baby was born healthy, but Erin's future is uncertain.
Jenny Jones: Maybe in five years in school she's going to have problems. You know, maybe she'll stop growing. You know, you don't really know. I don't know. I don't know. It's really terrible. I don't know for sure. There's nothing yet.

Reporter: Nothing that suggests Erin was affected by the drugs, and that's something Jenny considers a blessing.
But it's not always the case for babies born to users.

Jenny Jones: I know two other women that have used and one of them. the baby was-- seemed fine, and one of them, the baby had to have five or six operations.

Reporter: Canadian doctors say there's still not enough research to determine exactly what effect meth has on babies when mum uses during pregnancy.

So CTV went to Des Moine, Iowa. It's been dealing with a meth epidemic since the early 1990s.
At Blank Children's Hospital, Dr. Rizwan Shaw has been studying the effect of meth and pregnancy for more than a decade.

Dr. Rizwan Shaw: Over the last 11 years, we have seen on an average of about 200 babies that have come to our clinic because of the concerns of pregnant women using methamphetamine.

Reporter: What her study found is heartbreaking.
Dr. Rizwan Shaw: 20% of the pregnancies of methamphetamine using moms resulted in premature birth. Umm, this puts the child at risk naturally for extended hospital stay, for developmental issues.

Reporter: And there were other problems.
Dr. Rizwan Shaw: Organization of sleep and wake cycle, organization of sucking and swallowing function for the babies and also the sensory integration.

Reporter: In the worst cases, unborn babies suffered strokes and died. Some of those who survived face lifelong disabilities.

Dr. Rizwan Shaw: We are seeing these babies with the neurological deficits such as paralysis or weakness on one side of the body, and tremors or muscle tone problems and cerebral palsy. And those are rare, but these are the complication that no baby should have to face.

Reporter: Despite what can happen in the womb, Dr. Shaw believes what happens after birth is even more crucial, and that is something Canadian doctors agree with.

Dr. Gilles Fortin, H?pital Sainte-Justine: The way the child is raised more important than the drug being taken while he was in mom's belly.
Reporter: Unfortunately, meth is making home life a nightmare for some children.

Former narcotics investigator Roger Lake has seen the toll it's taken on children in Washington State where he worked. He says children were living in more than one-third of the homes busted meth labs-- their parents. addicts.

Roger Lake, Washington State Narcotics
Investigators Assn.: We had rampant sexual abuse against the children. Once the parents became addicted, if they couldn't get a drug, they would give their child up, male or female, to whoever brought the dope to the house.

Reporter: Not surprisingly, the children were messed up and difficult to find homes for.
Roger Lake, Washington State Narcotics

Investigators Assn.: We found that the foster parent people no longer wanted children from meth labs because they were too violent in their home.
Reporter: Which is why experts say it's so important to ensure drug-addicted parents get the help they need.

Dr. Gilles Fortin, H?pital Sainte-Justine: Once we identify a drug-using mother, I think it's an alarm saying that this child is going to be in trouble, and not only during pregnancy periods but much more after it has been born. And so, this is a family which needs help for a long time.

Reporter: Jenny has a support network and a determination to stay away from meth. She regrets ever using, especially while pregnant.
Jenny Jones: I think it's disgusting. I think it's horrible.

Reporter: Jenny, who is now battling cancer, believes she wasted years of her life doing meth so these days she is trying to treasure each moment with the little girl who had the power to make her quit.

Jenny Jones: I'm lucky I got to hear my baby's heartbeat and it changed everything for me.
Reporter: Michele Brunoro, CTV News.

Bill Good: Tomorrow night: If we are on the brink of crystal meth epidemic, and everyone agrees that this is a terrible and frightening drug, what can be done? Michele Brunoro will have that story tomorrow.

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