More mothers 'are drug users'

More mothers 'are drug users'

The report examined child poverty

The number of babies born to drug-using mothers in Scotland has almost doubled in four years, according to a report.

The figures also suggested an alarming increase in the use and abuse of alcohol among young people.

The report by children's charity NCH Scotland said that almost 1,000 babies were born to drug-using mothers north of the border in 2000.

That figure is equivalent to one in 56 births.

Child obesity

The rate almost doubled from 9.3 per 1,000 births in 1996 to 17.7 per 1,000 in 2000.

Combined with existing problems such as poverty and family breakdown, the charity said this meant ever-increasing numbers of children were being brought up in disadvantaged circumstances in Scotland.

The report also shows an increase in the use of alcohol by children and a continuing rise in child obesity.

It said the proportion of 12 to 15-year-olds who had drunk alcohol in the week before they were surveyed leapt from 14% to 21%.

Our report clearly shows that Scotland faces a formidable challenge in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable children in our society.

Christopher Holmes
NCH Scotland

And one in 12 (8.6%) Scottish three to four-year-olds was clinically obese in 1998-99, substantially more than in the rest of the UK where the rate was 5%.

The figures also showed 28 boys and seven girls aged under 19 died during 2002 as a result of intentional self-harm.

Falls accounted for nearly half of all hospital admissions for five to 14-year-olds, but the largest number of deaths were caused by road traffic accidents.

Christopher Holmes, NCH Scotland's director of children's services, said: "Our report clearly shows that Scotland faces a formidable challenge in meeting the needs of the most vulnerable children in our society."