If a pregnant woman consumes drugs, it can have a massive impact on the unborn child. Those affected are therefore given a helping hand at the Jena University Hospital. This is now to be expanded.
Jena (dpa/th) - A Jena support project for addicted pregnant women is to be established throughout Thuringia in the future. From 2024 it is planned to expand the pilot project "clean4us" (in German: Clean for us) from the Jena University Hospital to other hospitals in the Free State, said project coordinator Liane Menke of the German Press Agency. The first talks have already been held on this, and implementation is to follow next year. At a specialist conference on Tuesday in Jena, a number of experts also want to exchange views on the consequences of drug use during pregnancy.
"Clean4us" has been running at the Jena University Hospital since autumn 2020. During that time, around 35 to 40 women were cared for, Menke said. Initially, the project only addressed women who are dependent on the drug crystal meth. Over time, however, it turned out that many of those affected consume several substances. "We're also noticing that more and more women are smoking during pregnancy. That's a problem because there's not a lot of awareness that it could be harmful."
The aim of the project is for women to stop taking drugs during pregnancy. "You can achieve that quickly. But the women also have to be self-motivated." Crystal meth use may lead to more children being born prematurely and having more trouble maintaining their birth weight. Many would have to stay in the hospital for weeks.
Ultimately, "Clean4us" is about mother and child being able to stay together - and that works best if consumption is reduced to zero as early as possible. It is therefore also important that women come into contact with the project as early as possible. This is usually done via midwives or gynecologists, sometimes also via youth welfare offices. "I've never seen women come to us of their own accord."
According to Menke, it is mainly women from the surrounding area who are cared for in Jena - i.e. Jena, the Saale-Holzland district, or Gera, where there is a high level of concern. This is because, as a project coordinator in Jena, she has a network of addiction clinics, addiction stations and day clinics. In other parts of the country it is difficult, there she can only mediate.
The experiences in Jena should now serve as a template for expanding the project to other cities, she said. It is important that the relevant clinics have perinatal centers - so larger houses in Erfurt, Weimar, Saalfeld or Gera are more suitable.
