I am interested in this research question because I think that it is important for people to know the negative effects of drinking or doing drugs while you are pregnant. As a nursing student, I have a basic understanding of the way the brain works and how people develop, which can help me in explaining the scientific side of these effects. This topic does not change my values because it agrees with them in the way that I believe that knowingly harming an unborn baby is bad and should be considered abuse. I have learned about the usage of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy in AP psychology my senior year of high school, and in developmental psychology which I am taking now. The only personal experience I have in this is when my cousin adopted two little boys because they would have gone into a foster home after their mother tried to sell them for drug money. 


The central claim of this article is that alcohol and other drugs can have negative effects on fetuses and children throughout their life. The major evidence was the neuroscience behind what happens to a fetus when exposed to these substances, and the developmental issues that children have to suffer with for the rest of their lives.

The major values in this article are the scientific reasoning, and the descriptions through the different stages of life. Many people only know about the effects it has on children, not older adults. Interests at stake could be drug users or alcoholics, who know how hard it is to stop using those substances. They may argue that they cannot help but use them even while they know that they are pregnant.

The author has a PhD and is a professor at New York University, giving him credentials to talk about this subject. This article seems credible because it is a peer reviewed journal. It comes from the library database EBSCOhost for social workers. Since this article is scientific, the author does not have any bias on it. He cannot use opinions to sway scientific facts so there is no bias. 

The central claim of this article was that crack is bad for people, and for their unborn babies. The major evidence included a description about how crack is an anorectic drug, which can cause malnutrition, and how it can lead to a lack of self care which can be dangerous for a fetus.

A major value and interest at stake were the life of the child after being exposed to crack, and how that environment can affect their lives. Another value or interest was describing what the mother went through while she was not on the drug, and how hard it is for an addict to stop using. 

Although I do not know a lot about the author's background, the article was written very well and since it was a study about a real person, it seems credible. This academic journal was from the criminal justice EBSCOhost database from the library, which adds to the credibility. There did not seem to be much bias in this article, however it did sympathize with drug addicts because some of it was told from the main subjects point of view.

The central claim of this article was that smoking while pregnant, and not eating enough fruit and vegetables can lead to late and moderately preterm births. The major evidence came from a population based case-cohort study in which researchers took women who are pregnant and observed how smoking and their diets affected their time of delivery. 

Major values and interests at stake include the health of the baby if he/she is born preterm, because their bodies can be underdeveloped, which can cause major health problems and even death in some cases. The only problem with this study is that some people may try to argue that other things caused a preterm birth and that although there is correlation between the two, there is no causation.

The authors of this article are all from a University in the UK. Since this was a well written study, it shows credibility. It was also an academic journal from the nursing section of EBSCOhost through the Thomas Cooper Library website. I did not notice any bias in this article.

Some people believe that a woman should have the right to drink and to do whatever drugs she wants while she is carrying a child. The fine line between letting people do what they want and considering this abuse is where this topic comes in. Some of the agreements are that it is abusive to hurt an unborn baby because being exposed to drugs can negatively impact their lives. The disagreements would be that people can make their own decisions and that people cannot be blamed because some people believe that addiction is a disease they have no control over. The perspectives of my sources are similar to my own, so they do not affect them. I think my research question could be rephrased to be more controversial.  

 
