[NICU_Nurse]

A friend of mine works in a hospital about three hours away from here in the ER of a fairly rural hospital as a transport team member (big hospital, but wayyyyyyy out in the country). She called me just now to relate this story of a woman whose twelve year old son called the ER to ask for help. The clerk put the triage nurse on the phone, and this is what he told her:

His mom was pregnant with twins and was due any day. She'd had an uneventful pregnancy. Earlier that evening, she'd apparantly decided to indulge in a little crack smoking, figuring the babies were big enough to not be harmed. She smoked crack and was already completely drunk, and apparantly slipped on the kitchen linoleum and fell down. Next thing you know, SROM all over the kitchen floor, intense labor, and no one is home but her three and four year olds, who are in another room. She crawled to the phone and had to call her twelve year old, who was at a friend's house down the street. He came running back to the house and found her laboring and crowning on the kitchen floor! He didn't know what to do, and she started screaming at him, "Catch them, CATCH the babies!" and he knelt down just in time to catch his brand new (and thankfully, completely healthy) baby brother and sister. Mom was still completely high, so he laid the babies out in her lap and ran to the phone to get help. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? That poor boy!!! They sent two medic units out to the house, which was WAY in the boonies, to pick up mom and the babies and move them to the hospital.

My friend said that she was just freaking out, and when her shift was over, she went upstairs to see how everyone was doing. Babies were both fine, big, healthy, no probs. Mom was in PP recovery and seemed to be doing fine. She met the son who delivered the babies, and said he was just overwhelmed, and he was telling her the story of what happened very calm and adult-like. She said that halfway through, she realized that nobody had told him what a good job he'd done, and she hugged him really tight (she's got a nine year old at home, I think this story particularly touched her...you know how that works- sometimes they just sqeeze your heart, you know?) and kept telling him how brave he was and what a wonderful, important thing he'd done.

She called me and told me all of this, and was kind of crying about it a little, and I was just like, good LORD, what a traumatic thing for a twelve year old to have to go through! I mean, nevermind that mom is a crack fiend and an alchoholic, but I'm sure he never thought he'd be seeing his mother...umm...in that light. And I mean, what are the chances of this kid getting counseling? I told my husband, wow, maybe he'll end up wanting to be a doctor. He said I was naive and that the kid would probably hate women for the rest of his life and be scarred sexually when he reached adulthood. So, so, so sad. I'm glad their all alright, but I just want to throttle the man in charge for allowing this to happen, you know? So frustrating. Okay, venting over. ;>) Thanks for hearing me out.

[memphispanda]

That is terribly sad for the kids. Hopefully the son will be able to make something good from this...sounds like his home life must be pretty cruddy. Maybe not abusive but neglectful.

[H ynnoD]

(The babies were big enough so they would'nt be harmed!)Amazing the excuses people use to do Drugs.Do you think she really made it that far before doing any drugs?If she could'nt wait alittle longer till the babies were born I doubt she didn't do drugs some times during Her Pregnancy.Sad that the kids are going to grow up in that type of eviroment.Neglect is a type of abuse in my book.Those kids need love and attention.Drugs will take all that away.

[babynurselsa]

Yeah, and the chances that she had waited all the way through that pregnancy right up until that moment to smoke crack?!?!?!?!
Oh please. The babies welfare had no relavence to this woman. I am sure that this young man is grown up in ways that many of us will never be able to appreciate.
Crack is not a recreational drug that folks can pick up and put down at will. When you smoke it you get addicted.

[Teshiee]

She is trifling! It is sad when adults drop their burdens on their children. I hope he grows up and do good for himself. I have issues with crack head parents. I hope she gets some help!!!

[magRN]

Wouldn't you think most certainly social services would be involved now? I'm thinking they would be now after all of this??

Sounds to me that the boy is 12 going on 30! Ya cann't have much of a childhood with all that going on from your own Mom (If you can call her that).

[Mimi2RN]

Will these babies be going home with mom, are going to foster care while mom gets her act together with rehab/recovery? That's what always bothers me. Over the last few months we have been sending home methamphetamine babies, I don't know why. It used to be automatic foster placement.

[Mira]

Here in UK,while the baby is in the Nursery screaming to the highest pitch thereby disturbing the peace in the unit,we keep records of visits and behavior during visits of the parents,social/community workers invistigate the home situation,if they can detect discrepancy the baby goes straight to foster parents,in turn the birth mother can continue with the habit of cracking and birthing,lol.and they are very fertile indeed.
Addiction goes from crack to methadone treatment to methadone addiction to all sorts of drugs,endless.I just hope they just stop producing babies!

[unikuelady]

A few years ago we had several "mothers" deliver the same week after using cocaine/crack. I was told by one of them that the word on the "street" was if you were tired of being pregnant and want to have a quick delivery is to use the drug. No one told them that the drugs cause many adverse effects to themselves and their babies...ie placental abruption, premature delivery, withdrawls, poor feeding, increased NICU admissions etc. This Mom ended up with a crash c-section and dead baby. Very sad...but the saddest part is that the Mom refused to believe that her drug use contributed/caused this situation! I wish this was an isolated incident-unfortunately there is high drug use of all kinds in the population that my facility serves. To make matters worse.....most of these babies go home with their mothers. As the discharging nurse-part of the mothers instructions is how to keep the baby safe when Mom is using!

[cwazycwissyRN]

Sad and unfortunately, the person (child) that delivered the babies will also be there support system as they grow up. These children never really get to be children do they.