Cape Town - Two-year-old Nuura looks like any other child. But doctors are concerned that as she grows, the ugly effects of drug exposure in the womb will begin to show.
Her 19-year-old mother, a tik (methamphetamine) addict, smoked at least twice daily while she was pregnant. And although she’s been clean for more than a year now, she lives in constant fear of the potential damage she has done.
“The doctor said she is fine physically, but her mental development is slower than other children her age. They can’t judge how badly she has been affected until she gets older, but it terrifies me that she is paying for all of my mistakes,” she said. “She didn’t deserve this, but there is nothing we can do to reverse the damage, especially when we don’t know what it is.”
Little is known about the effects of exposure to tik in the womb, but Red Cross Children’s Hospital paediatrician Kirsty Donald said these had been likened to foetal alcohol syndrome.
Donald has been studying the effects of methamphetamine on children for years, warning that it’s a growing epidemic which will impact on an entire generation of youngsters.
“Babies exposed to tik often show symptoms of developmental and behaviour issues, as well as poor social skills, hand-eye co-ordination, and aggressive and attention-seeking behaviour. But beyond that we know very little. What we’re trying to do is understand as much of the effects now so we can minimise future damage,” she said.
The effects of tik on babies has been compared to foetal alcohol syndrome, but Donald said there was insufficient information in South Africa to make that comparison.
“Very few people are willing to admit to usage of tik during pregnancy, which makes it hard to investigate the effects.”
The damage usually continues after the birth too, as babies are often neglected by their drug-addicted parents.
Donald and several teams of doctors are working on three studies on the effects of tik on babies, the results of which are expected by the end of the year.
Bronagh Casey, a Western Cape Education Department spokeswoman, said the department had increased its special education budget by R43 million to R894.7m.
“A large portion of children in the Western Cape have foetal alcohol syndrome, or are the children of mothers who abused tik during pregnancy. Depending on the severity of the impairment, these pupils may receive support from their class teacher, a learning support teacher in a mainstream school, or full-service school. But if a high level of support is needed, (the children are) referred to an appropriate special school,” she said.
About 19 500 pupils attend 74 special schools in the province, including schools of skills, designed for children more suited to a technical rather than an academic education.
This is the highest concentration of special schools per capita in the country. - Weekend Argus