Page 2A - THE CHARLOTTE POST - Thxirsday, September 23,1993
Baby Steps Helps Mothers, Children Curb Drug Urge
Continued From Page lA
'We can take a woman at
any phase," said Carol Surls,
a re^stered nurse who works
In the nursery.
"Theoretically we can admit
someone who is already in
labor."
When Brown arrived at the
center, she was in such dan
ger of delivering her babies
early that she was immedi
ately put on bed rest. Anoth
er danger had to be consid
ered: low birth weight.
For many clients, informa
tion about how drug use af
fects babies is enough to
shock them into sta)dng so
ber.
"No matter what, every
time a mother uses, in effect,
the baby uses," said Ken Love,
a counselor at the center.
"Our goal is to get the mother
off drugs as soon as possible.
The more exposure the baby
has to drugs, the greater the
chances that there will be
some problems."
Complications can occur if
the mother uses at a time
when development is taking
place for the fetus. Infant
mortality, low birth weight
and mental retardation are
problems for babies whose
mothers are users.
Fear and ignorance play a
big part in expecting mothers
avoiding treatment. "Many
people are afraid to go to the
doctor because their addic
tion will be identified," said
Knight. "That’s why it's im
portant to be non-
judgmental here."
Since October, 47 women
have come enrolled in the
Baby Steps program. Addic
tion, say the experts, has no
stereotype. "There is a lot of
Election
Goes To
Cannon
Continued From Page lA
this day forward I will
buckle down and take j^rl the
concerns and issues of my
constituents."
The Issues Cannon will fo
cus on are crime, affordable
housing, the internal and ex
ternal upgrading of commu
nities, the safety and direc
tion of children and more
effective government.
He wants to lead the march
in unifying neighborhoods
and commu
nities of Dis
trict 3, locat
ed on the
city’s west-
side.
Cannon
said he plans
to incorpo
rate a unity
alliance, an
organization
formulated
to bring in
more young people and lead
ers to get involved in the po
litical process.
"There are a number of
young leaders in the commu
nity that want to be a part of
the govern
ing process, ’’
he said.
"In order
for a city to
emerge to be
reckoned
with, the
torch needs
to be passed
along from
the current
leaders to
the new and
Baker
A.
Hammond
upcoming
leaders."
Besides
Cannon,
there’ll be
other new
faces on
council. Re
publican
Charlie Bak
er, 66, won
the District
6 seat; Dem
ocrat Sara
Spencer took
District 1 and Mike Jackson
beat Incumbent Tom Man-
gum in the District 7 Repub
lican race. In the mayoral
contests. Republican incum
bent Richard Vinroot and
Democrat Ann Hammond
easily won their primaries,
setting up the expected No
vember contest.
^^nroot
denial in the middle class
community," Knight said.
One of the first patients was
in pharmaceutical sales. She
was addicted to multiple
drugs. "People often don’t ac
knowledge that alcohol and
prescription drugs are also
dangerous."
The Lancaster Recovery
Center has been in operation
since 1980. The decision to
create a program for addicted
mothers came out of compas
sion from staff members.
"Many of our staff are recov
ering from addiction,"
Knight said. "It was hard on
us as professionals to turn
people away. It has been an
effort from everybody."
Some users are so scared,
they get high when they go
into labor. "Some have
friends who may bring drugs
into the hospital. Some may
avoid going to hospital alto
gether and some babies are
born dead at home," said
Surls.
The majority of women
who have checked into Baby
Steps have had children al
ready. "It may be their second
or third baby. No matter
what the socioeconomic stat
us, most have had a poor ex
perience with prenatal care,"
Knight said.
The educational compo
nent is an important part of
recovery. Sometimes parents
and children exposed to
drugs don’t form normal
bonds. Classes are some
times held in the bedrooms
of patients. Among the
things covered are: prenatal
care. Infancy CPR, feeding,
supplies, labor and delivery,
bonding, infant withdrawal,
the baby’s first year, family
control, parenting and the
Women And Drugs
• Women frequently use other drugs in combination with
alcohoi, piacing themseives at a higher risk of physicai
and psychoiogical impairment. Forty-five percent of fe-
maie Aicohoiics Anonymous members, as opposed to 35
percent of men, report being addicted to another drug.
• Aicohol use by pregnant women is the leading cause of
mentai retardation in newborns. Fetai alcohol syndrome
(FAS), marked by dysfunction of the central nervous sys
tem, prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency and faciai
maiformations, affects 1 to 3 of every 1,000 newborns.
SOURCE/DRUG EDUCATION CENTER
department of social service
and discharge planning.
While a good deal is known
about what happens to the fe
tus of an addicted mother,
studies are still being done
on the long-term effects of
drug use. ’We know that ba
bies who are exposed to drugs
often have poor socializa
tion skills," Surls said.
"They may not show ex
tremes in emotion either
way. They may have gaze
aversion."
"We know that addicted
mothers and fathers are of
ten not nurturing," Knight
said. "They make poor par
ents. After the birth, drugs
take precedent."
Brown said she was taking
advantage of all the recovery
program had to offer in order
to be a good mother. After
eight days at the center
Brown said she still wrestled
with her desire to use drugs.
This was Brown’s second
pregnancy. Her 2-year-old
daughter Is also a concern.
"God put three lives in my
hands. I know he’s not going
to fall me," Brown said. "As
far as I can tell, the hear
Family Not Angry Ov jr Murder
Continued From Page lA
Dees has asked for FBI
records on Alexander. He
said if they show negligence
or that the FBI continued to
pay him with knowledge of
his tendency for violence,
the Edwards family will con
sider a lawsuit.
"After we hear from the
FBI and Mr. Dees tells us he
has exhausted all possibili
ties then we can lay it to
rest," O’Neil said. ’We won’t
do it until then."
O’Neil was 4 years old
when Edwards, 25, was ab
ducted on the outskirts of
Montgomery by a group of
white men and forced at gun
point to jump to his death
from the Tyler Goodwin
Bridge over the Alabama
River. His body was found
three months later.
Alexander told his wife in
December that he lied that
Edwards had commented
about a white woman and
Watt
Breaks
Party
Line
Continued From Page lA
that a federal law wouldn’t
work the way legislators
hope. Of the
five pepple
convicted un
der N.C. law,
three were
African
American.
"Whether
we like to ad
mit it or not,
our society is
race con
scious. We
tend to ex
press things in racial terms
when we’re emotional," he
said. "I think it’s a bad idea
to make It possible to prose
cute someone for a hate
crime and prolong criminal
trials and Increas the burden
on prisons every time a ra
cial remark or epithet is ut
tered in the course of a fight.
It’s the assault which ought
to be punished, not the emo
tional state of the person
charged."
"Finding out what
happened and
how it happened
did diminish the
bitterness for
her."
Melinda O'Neil of
Buffalo, N.Y., on her
mother's reaction to the
death of Willie Edwards,
who was killed in 1957 by
a Ku Klux Klan member.
in Buffalo.
Before meeting Alexander,
O’Neil and Betts visited the
Hope Hull cemetery where he
is burled and placed two ros
es on his grave.
Watt
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with a Level III nursery. ’We
suspected that the babies
would have a low birth
weight," said Nancy Swan
son the center’s Industrial
coordinator.
Last week Brown gave birth
to twin girls weighing 3.6
pounds each.
For information about the
Baby Steps program at Lan
caster Recovery Center, call 1
(800) 788-1491. ,
beats are fine. I can feel them
moving. As far as permanent
damage, I won’t taow until
they’re bom. I have to deal
with that as it comes."
Any time the mother
spends clear of drugs serves
as an advantage for the baby.
Although she was worried
about her babies. Brown still
had a chip on her shoulder
when she checked In. "I was
angry and frustrated like
any person who has to admit
that they are powerless over
dmgs," she said.
After about a week. Brown’s
hostility diminished. The re
laxed atmosphere helps.
"The staff here Is wonderful."
In addition, the Narcotics
Anonymous meetings and
the belief in a "higher power"
are an essential part of her
recovery. "It’s not a matter of
will power anymore. I have
to turn to my higher power
and talk to Him," Brown
said. "Sometimes I write
down how I’m feeling. I ana
lyze it and try to figure out
why I’m feeling that way."
In less than three weeks at
the center. Brown was trans
ferred to another hospital
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helped force Edwards to
jump.
Diana Alexander recently
wrote to Edwards’ widow, Sa
rah Salter of Buffalo, telling
her of the confession. Salter
was unablepio travel to Mont
gomery for health reasons,
her daughter said, but she
sent "hugs and kisses" to
Mrs. Alexander.
"Finding out what hap
pened and how it happened
did diminish the bitterness
for her," O’Neil said.
"She was left with two
little girls and was pregnant
and here she was thinking
that her husband had left
her, when his life really had
been taken senselessly. Then
to live with this for 36
years."
Alexander did not imme
diately return a telephone
message seeking comment
about the meeting.
Edwards also left a son,
Gary Edwards, who also lives
Classic Comes To City
Continued From Page lA
black college football classics played in America every year,
with the biggest being the Bayou Classic in New Orleans be
tween Grambllng and Southern universities at the 72,000-seat
Superdome, and the Circle City Classic at the 70,000-seat Hoo-
sier Dome in Indianapolis, Ind. Both games are usually sold
out, even though Indianapolis doesn’t have a historically
black college in the area.
The New Queen City Classic is an updated version of the old
Queen City Classic between West Charlotte High School and
Second Ward, Charlotte’s all-black high schools before deseg
regation in the 1960s. Back then, the game was one of the
city’s major social events, complete with pageants and dances
through the weekend. The college version is patterned alter it.
At a press conference Monday, Betty McCarroll, one of the
queens from the 1950 classic, was on hand to kick off this
week’s festivities.
In addition to football, there’ll be pageants, step shows and
motivational speakers with former professional athletes Tim
Newman and Kelvin Seabrooks. The classic’s aim is to also
provide a positive message to young people.
’We’ll have about 2,5(30 to 3,000 youth from the Charlotte
area at the game," said Michael Jennings, president of A&D
Enterprises, the group promoting the event.
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