Should Smoking in Pregnancy Be Classified as Child Abuse? Analysis

This essay examines the controversial topic of classifying smoking during pregnancy as child abuse, arguing against criminalization and advocating for a public health approach focused on treatment and support. It critiques the application of child abuse laws, highlighting that physical abuse requires intentional harm, which is distinct from the context of addiction. The essay emphasizes that fear of punishment may deter pregnant women from seeking necessary prenatal care and addiction treatment. The essay supports the idea that treatment and patient-centered strategies, including encouraging communication from medical consultants, commit-to-quit programs, and breastfeeding support, are more effective in promoting smoking cessation and improving maternal and infant health outcomes. The paper concludes that a supportive, treatment-focused approach yields better results than punitive measures.

Running head: QUESTION 1
18
POLICY POWERS AND
POLITICS
STUDENT DETAILS:

QUESTION 2
The topic of debate is should smoking in the pregnancy be classified as child abuse and should
smoking in pregnancy be punished for child abuse. It is found that the dangerous effects of
smoking have been the main issue. I disagree with the statement given by opposition because
everyone thinks that using smoking during the pregnancy is bad. However, using the civil child
abuse system and criminal justice system to give the punishment to the people for smoking
during pregnancy just makes a bad situation much and much worse (Ko, et. al, 2014).
It has been said by affirmative speaker that smoking during pregnancy can be dangerous for the
babies. That person should be punished for child abuse. Here, my point is that child abuse crimes
in Australia usually come under two major types, child endangerment and physical abuse. The
physical abuse crime requires intractable infliction of the unkind punishment and the injury to
the children, which origins the disturbing or painful situation, and an act was not the part of
rational punishment of child. Further, the person may be culpable of child endangerment, when
the person cause or allow the child to bear unforgivable physical hurt or the emotional distress,
deliberately cause or allow child in the care to be ill-treated, or deliberately cause or allow child
to be found in the risky condition. If the female was to be charged because that female smoked
during the pregnancy, it would likely be for cause the baby to be found in the risky situation that
does not need any real harm to a baby. By not criminalizing this kind of action, states are
required to take the right approach. Treatment is better than trial. Highlighting the treatment as a
replacement for trial avoids the issue of frightening off females who will be scared to go to the
clinic for medical treatment at the time of pregnancy or from looking for the medical care for this
addiction during the pregnancy. It permits the females who resist with addictions to have right to
use this program when they require it without terror of being punished, and might decrease the
probabilities that the infant will be born with various health issues (Pineles, et. al, 2016). Further,

QUESTION 3
my point is that females with the material abuse disorder at the time of pregnancy, both for the
smoke and prenatal care, and a fear of being punished by state may take the females away from
the treatment (Ekblad, Korkeila and Lehtonen, 2015).
It is concluded by South African study that person who smokes during pregnancy should not be
punished. According to this, way of medical consultant to communicate problem of smoking and
pregnancy is of great significance. The good response from pregnant females by patient centered
strategy that is based on short encouraging interrogating and believing and link between patient
and midwife. The modern approach adopted by medical consultant instead of trial is successful
in achieving the purpose of smoking cessation programs. The US randomized controlled trial
explored that the females who were also learned by commit to quit video, the guide for pregnant
females to quit smoking and treatment got the importantly high cessation rate. This cessation rate
is 17.3% v 8.8%. Further, It was indicated by studies of Australia and Italy that additionally
being significantly less likely to smoking in general that is AOR 0.10, 95% CI 0.02–0.68,
females breastfeeding their child were in the short term and long term more likely to remain
sober or smoke less in comparison to non-breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding can also
encourage smoking cessation in indirect manner. In this way, smoking cessation should be
encouraged by treatment and campaigns (Pineles, et. al, 2014).

QUESTION 4
References
Ekblad, M., Korkeila, J., and Lehtonen, L. (2015) Smoking during pregnancy affects foetal brain
development. Acta paediatrica, 104(1), pp. 12-18.
Ko, T. J., Tsai, L. Y., Chu, L. C., Yeh, S. J., Leung, C., Chen, C. Y., Chou, H. C., Tsao, P. N.,
Chen, P. C., and Hsieh, W. S. (2014) Parental smoking during pregnancy and its association with
low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth offspring: a birth cohort
study. Pediatrics & neonatology, 55(1), pp. 20-27.
Pineles, B. L., Hsu, S., Park, E., and Samet, J. M. (2016) Systematic review and meta-analyses of
perinatal death and maternal exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy. American journal of
epidemiology, 184(2), pp. 87-97.
Pineles, B. L., Park, E., and Samet, J. M. (2014) Systematic review and meta-analysis of
miscarriage and maternal exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy. American journal of
epidemiology, 179(7), pp. 807-823.