Life can be hard to understand

Here, I work in the nursery and in the neonatal ICU and I get to see these little bundles of cells as they enter the world. Many enter with so many things against them you wonder how they will ever make it. I have a patient who was born to a 14 year old street child. There was no prenatal care. The fetus was exposed to many toxins including cocaine, alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, amphetamine, heroin, and many other poisons. The infant was born 10 weeks premature and can barely muster enough strength to get a breath. The mother is developmentally challenged and can't read or write and even struggles with speaking. She only went to school until 3rd grade and the father is in prison for life for gang related murder. I do not know anything about his drug abuse or education. He obviously has violent tendencies and who knows what other struggles he has. 

Now you have a newborn baby without a present father and with a damaged mother. The infant has suffered from drug abuse and premature birth. He has underdeveloped lungs and signs of possible brain damage. The state will put the mother and her child when he is well enough into a home. Most of these mothers do not stay at these homes because there are rules and they are not allowed to use drugs or smoke. Most likely this infant will end up either on the street with his mother or in and out of different living circumstance for much of his childhood. The odds are so staked against this infant from an intellectual, health, financial, shelter and basic necessities that I can't help but wonder how will this child ever contribute to society. This cycle repeats itself over and over again. His parents were raised in similar circumstances and their parents were probably exposed to the same environment.

I do not have the answer nor am I naive enough to think that I can make a significant impact. I just try to get the infant through another hour and another day.