Drug Use and Pregnancy

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Drug Use and Pregnancy

09 September, 2020Articles, News

As an expectant mother, you want your baby to be as healthy as possible. Remember that most of what you consume is passed along to your growing baby. While some things are good for your baby, others can be harmful. Alcohol and illegal drugs are known to be particularly dangerous for a developing baby. Any amount of these substances is considered unsafe during pregnancy. You should avoid them altogether while you’re pregnant. Quitting before you get pregnant is ideal, but stopping drug or alcohol use at any point during pregnancy will benefit your baby.

How Does Drug Use During Pregnancy Affect the Baby?

You and your baby are connected by the placenta and umbilical cord. Nearly everything that enters your body will be shared with your baby. This means that any drug you use will also affect your baby. A foetus is very sensitive to drugs and can’t eliminate drugs as effectively as you can. Consequently, the chemicals can build up to extremely high levels in the baby’s system and cause permanent damage.

Taking drugs during pregnancy also increases the chance of birth defects, premature babies, underweight babies, and stillborn births. Exposure to drugs such as marijuana — also called weed, ganja, dope, or pot — and alcohol before birth has been proven to cause behavioural problems in early childhood. These drugs can also affect the child’s memory and attentiveness. In addition, some findings show that babies born to women who use cocaine, alcohol, or tobacco when they are pregnant may have brain structure changes that persist into early adolescence.

The risks associated with drug use during pregnancy depend on various factors, including:

the type of drug used
the point at which the drug was used
the number of times the drug was used

In general, however, using drugs during pregnancy can result in the following:

miscarriage
stillbirth
small size
low birth weight
premature birth
birth defects
sudden infant death syndrome
drug dependency in the baby

Here are some of the specific consequences of drug use during pregnancy:

Low birth weight places an infant at a higher risk for illness, intellectual disability, and even death.
Premature birth increases the risk of lung, eye, and learning problems in the infant.
Birth defects that often occur due to drug use include seizure, stroke, and intellectual and learning disabilities.
Foetuses can become dependent on the drug(s) the mother is using and may experience withdrawal symptoms after delivery.

Drug use during early pregnancy can affect the developing organs and limbs of the foetus. Even one episode of drug use during this period can affect the development of your child. In most cases, it results in a birth defect or miscarriage. Drug use later in pregnancy can affect the development of your baby’s central nervous system. After pregnancy, many drugs can pass through breast milk and harm the baby.

Using any type of illegal drug during pregnancy can have a detrimental effect on your child. Here is some information on the most commonly used drugs and how they can affect a developing baby.

Marijuana

To get the full effect of marijuana, smokers need to inhale deeply and hold the smoke in their lungs for as long as possible. There are many harmful gases in marijuana smoke that can be passed along to your baby, increasing the risk for complications. Smoking marijuana during pregnancy may increase the chances that your baby will have a bowel movement while inside the womb, which can cause early onset of labour and foetal distress. Marijuana use can also result in poor growth, behavioural problems, and breathing problems.

Marijuana use should also be avoided while breast-feeding, as the drug can easily be transmitted to the baby through breast milk.

Cocaine

Cocaine use during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth. It can also cause premature rupture of membranes (water breaks early), early separation of the placenta, and preterm labour. A baby exposed to cocaine is at a higher risk for:

stroke
poor growth
feeding problems
deformed limbs
brain damage
reproductive or urinary system abnormalities
sudden infant death syndrome
long-term behavioural problems

After pregnancy, cocaine can be transmitted to the baby through breast milk, so it shouldn’t be used while breast-feeding.

Opiates (Narcotics)

Opiates, also known as narcotics, include heroin and methadone. Women who use narcotics during pregnancy are at increased risk for preterm labour and delivery. They are also more likely to deliver a stillborn baby or a baby with growth problems. Babies exposed to narcotics in utero are at increased risk for neonatal death.

Heroin

If you use heroin during pregnancy, your baby may be born addicted to the drug. They may experience a severe, life-threatening withdrawal syndrome after delivery. This condition is characterized by the following symptoms:

high-pitched crying
poor feeding
tremors
irritability
sneezing
sweating
vomiting
diarrhea
seizures

Your baby will need special care and medication to treat their withdrawals.

If you share needles, you should be tested for HIV and hepatitis. These infections can also cause complications in your baby.

Like cocaine and marijuana, heroin shouldn’t be used while breast-feeding.

Methadone

If you can quit using opiates altogether, it will be best for you and your baby. However, switching to methadone is better than continued heroin use. Methadone is associated with better pregnancy outcomes than heroin, but babies can still experience the narcotic withdrawal syndrome. Additionally, they may still be at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). For these reasons, it’s best to avoid using methadone during pregnancy. Methadone use of 20 milligrams or less per day is compatible with breast-feeding.

Amphetamines

If you use stimulants, such as crystal methamphetamine (speed), then you are at increased risk for the following problems:

early placental separation
delivery of a baby with growth problems
death of the foetus in utero

Amphetamines shouldn’t be used if you’re breast-feeding.

RESOURCES

https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/alcohol-drugs

https://www.webmd.com/baby/drug-use-and-pregnancy

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The Intervention

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Home / Posts tagged "#substance abuse" (Page 12)

The Intervention

10 July, 2020Articles, News

An addiction of any kind is extremely destructive. Failing health, divorce, loss of jobs, arrests, family tension, dropping out of school and ultimately death are just some of the results of addiction. These consequences apply when dealing with any addiction; substance abuse, alcoholism, gambling, sex addiction are the most common that require some form of intervention.

Watching a loved one battle the consequences of addiction is difficult and often these consequences affect the family and loved ones of the addict. The nature of addiction means that the addict very often is unaware or unable to see the real cost of the addiction, they rely on denial mechanisms to block out these horrible truths. If they are aware that the addiction is causing unmanageability in their lives they are unwilling to seek professional help and believe they can manage on their own.

An intervention is a deliberate process orchestrated by family and loved ones to get the addict to see their truth and hopefully seek professional help. It is used to motivate change and is usually a last ditch effort to facilitate the process. In most cases an addict seeks out help as a result of mounting consequences and unmanageability. The intervention process raises this “rock bottom” in the hope that the individual in question seeks out help sooner rather than later.

An intervention is when family and friends, with the help of a trained professional, confront the addict with facts and experiences of the addicts behaviour and the effect it has had on them and what action the addict needs to take next (Bottom Lines) also what the consequences will be if the addict does not follow through with the professional help provided (consequences). The process is planned and structured; the addict is usually unaware of what they are walking into.

There is no clear data on the success rates of interventions, as the outcomes are always different. An addict must be willing to want the help, and must have the right motivation to enter life in recovery. The danger is that this process could drive the individual further away – they may feel bullied or unwanted.

It is important to consult a professional when planning an intervention, this could be a doctor, addictions counsellor, psychologist or psychiatrist. The intervention process is an emotionally charged event and proper guidance and planning is needed for the desired outcomes.

The Process:

Have a plan; consult with a professional and relevant family and friends. Have treatment options ready
Collect information; between the parties involved, collect information regarding the addict – the behaviour, experiences and consequences resulting from the addiction
Decide on who will be apart of the intervention, family, friends, trained professional
Decide on specific consequences if the addict does not follow through and accept the help. Each of the members of the intervention “team” must decide on what they will do if the addict does not go into treatment – move out, allowance cut off, divorce etc.
Make sure you know what you need to say – a good suggestion is to have letters prepared
Get the addict to the intervention site, it is best that they do not know what is about to happen. Present the letters to the addict. The members of the intervention team take turns presenting their experiences; what changes they need to see and what consequences there will be if the addict does not agree to go into treatment. Do not make any threats if you are not willing to follow through with them
Outcome achieved, addict agrees to go to treatment and is taken directly to the facility.

Not all interventions are successful, often the addict will not accept the help and the situation can get heated. It is important that the members of the intervention team stand firm on the consequences to follow when the addict refuses the help. Be prepared for this. It is an emotional process, hold firm on bottom lines. Family and friends must able to remove themselves from the destructive situation and choose to no longer support the addicts behaviour.

A successful Intervention is well planned and structured. Consultation with a professional interventionist is always the best option. The process can be daunting, emotional, draining and sometimes scary – but it could be the push the addict needs to get help.

Resources

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-your-adult-child-breaks-your-heart/201408/drug-and-alcohol-interventions-do-they-work

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mental-illness/in-depth/intervention/art-20047451

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intervention_(counseling)