Pregnancy – Drugs & Alcohol Use

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Pregnancy & Substance Use / Abuse

Lots of people “party” using alcohol, recreational drugs, and other legal and illegal substances.

But, what if after you “party”, you find out you’re pregnant? Is the baby okay? Are you okay? It is good to be concerned about how these substances may affect you and your pregnancy, since many women ingest these substances and later find out they are pregnant.

Pregnancies can withstand quite a bit and still remain healthy, especially if you stop using drugs and/or drinking alcohol once you learn you’re pregnant. However, you should be aware of the details in this article so you can make wise choices.

If you’re concerned, talk with your doctor (OBGYN or other obstetric care provider). To get the best help from your doctor, be completely honest which substances you’ve used and how much. You should not change or discontinue taking prescription medications without first talking to your doctor.

During pregnancy women should not use tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, illegal drugs, or prescription medications for non-medical reasons.^1,2 Avoiding these substances and getting regular prenatal care are important to having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Pregnancy Considerations – The first two weeks before pregnancy are a “getting ready” time. Your body slowly releases more hormones and your uterus prepares for a potential pregnancy.³ About two weeks after your last menstrual period is when conception occurs (the egg gets fertilized by the sperm). From the time of conception, it takes the new life (zygote) about six to nine days to actually implant into the uterus, where it attaches and begins to get nourishment from the mother’s body, so it can grow.

So, if you used various substances during this “getting ready” time, the zygote (fertilized egg) may not have been affected. But the effect on the pregnancy depends on each person, the substance and amount used, and the effect is not completely predictable in all situations.

Abortion Considerations – Even if you’re considering abortion, you should stop using these substances. Whether you have a surgical abortion or use abortion pills (medication abortion), you will have bleeding which can have possible complications, and some of these substances can also interfere with healing. For example, alcohol can affect blood clotting, which could make increased bleeding riskier for you.⁴

When a woman smokes cigarettes during pregnancy, her fetus is exposed to many harmful chemicals. Nicotine is one of 4,000 chemicals that can pass from a pregnant woman to her fetus. Nicotine damages a fetus’s brain and lungs. This damage is permanent. Nicotine also causes blood vessels to narrow, so less oxygen and fewer nutrients reach the fetus.

Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth. Babies that are born too early may not be fully developed. They may be born with serious health problems. Some health problems, like cerebral palsy, can last a lifetime. Other problems, such as learning disabilities, may appear later in childhood or even in adulthood.

Babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy are at risk of other problems, including:

• Low birth weight
• Birth defects such as cleft lip (a split in the upper lip)
• Higher rates of colic (uncontrollable crying and irritability)
• Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Childhood asthma and obesity

Some people prefer to chew tobacco rather than smoke it. The products used are called smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco also contains nicotine that can be passed to a fetus during pregnancy. These products also should be avoided.

Other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, also contain nicotine and are not safe to use during pregnancy. And some of the flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be harmful to developing babies.

You will also want to try to avoid secondhand smoke, which has some of the same risks as smoking during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, alcohol can pass from the pregnant woman to the fetus and affect its development.

Alcohol use during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Alcohol use during pregnancy can cause a range of lifelong behavioral, intellectual, and physical disabilities known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

Every pregnancy is different. Alcohol use during pregnancy might affect one baby more than another. You could have one child who is born healthy and another child who is born with problems. There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during your pregnancy or when you are trying to get pregnant. There is also no safe time for alcohol use during pregnancy.

Not all babies will be affected by alcohol during pregnancy. However, it is impossible to know which babies will be affected.

It is recommended that pregnant women and those planning to get pregnant stop using medical marijuana.

Marijuana used during pregnancy is associated with attention and behavioral problems in children. Some studies suggest that marijuana use may increase the risk of stillbirth and the risk that babies will be smaller than babies who are not exposed to marijuana before birth. For these reasons, you should not use marijuana in any form during pregnancy.

You and your doctor can discuss other treatments that will be safer for your fetus.

Using cannabis during pregnancy may affect your baby’s development and put you at risk of pregnancy complications.

Cannabis use during pregnancy can be harmful to your baby’s health. The chemicals in cannabis (in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) pass through your system to your baby and may harm your baby’s development.

Although more research is needed to better understand how cannabis may affect you and your baby, it is recommended that pregnant women do not use cannabis.

If you are trying to conceive or are pregnant and need support to stop drinking or quit unhealthy substance use on your own, effective counseling and treatment are available.

Network Medical can refer you to get local help or you should talk with your doctor.