What are the Effects of Drugs and Alcohol on an Unborn Child?
Swallow a drug, including alcohol, or injecting or inhaling a drug can be delivered to the unborn baby through the umbilical cord. Even drugs prescribed to you by your health care provider before you became pregnant might be harmful to your unborn baby.
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It is important that your health care provider knows you are pregnant and check with them before you take any medications. Also, keep in mind that other things like caffeine, vitamins, and herbal teas and remedies can affect your baby.
Street drugs can be especially harmful to you and your unborn child and should always be avoided. If you have taken an illegal drug or some other substance you think may affect you and/or your baby, do not panic. Stop taking the drug immediately and contact your doctor, local health care provider, or local hospital.
Want more Information about Medications and Pregnancy?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rates both over-the-counter drugs as well as medications your health care provider may prescribe. The FDA system ranks drugs as follows:
- Category A – these are medications and drugs that have been tested for safety during pregnancy and have been found to be safe.
- Category B – includes drugs that have been used during pregnancy and do not appear to cause major birth defects or other problems.
- Category C – these drugs are more likely to cause problems for the pregnant woman or her baby. The category also includes drugs for which safety studies have not been finished. These drugs often come with a warning that they should be used only if the benefits of taking them outweigh the risks.
- Category D – are drugs that have clear health risks for the fetus and include alcohol and lithium.
- Category X – drugs that have been shown to cause birth defects and should never be taken during pregnancy. This includes drugs to treat skin conditions like cystic acne and psoriasis.
- Aspirin and other drugs containing salicylate are not recommended during pregnancy, especially during the last three months.
For additional information you may also find the following websites helpful:
Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction, part of the National Institutes of Health, provides the latest information about potentially hazardous effects of chemicals.
March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.
Centers for Disease Control provides information about use of medications during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
National Women’s Health Information Center information and referral center for women helps a pregnant woman learn what she can to do to promote a healthy pregnancy.
Physicians’ Desk Reference is written in lay terms and is based on the FDA-approved drug information. It gives consumers explanations for the safe and effective use of prescription and non-prescription drugs.
What are Additional Problems with consuming Alcohol?
No safe level of alcohol during pregnancy cannot be determined. The March of Dimes and the Centers for Disease Control both recommend that if you are pregnant you not drink any alcohol including beer, wine, wine coolers and hard liquor throughout your pregnancy and while nursing.
Women who drink alcohol while pregnant are more likely to have a miscarriage, a stillbirth, a low birth weight baby, or a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The effects of FAS last a lifetime. FAS cannot be reversed but it can be prevented by not drinking alcohol when you are pregnant.
While many women drink and their children are born perfectly healthy, you will be gambling with the life of your child. It is generally known that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause birth defects, but moderate, or even light drinking also may harm the baby. For additional information about alcohol use during your pregnancy, please visit Pregnancy and Alcohol on the website PregnancyAndChildren.com
For additional information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, please visit the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. If you are not able to stop drinking, you should contact her doctor, local Alcohol Anonymous or local alcohol treatment program.
Why to Avoid Illegal Drugs during Pregnancy?
If a woman takes an illegal drug during pregnancy there is a much greater risk of miscarriage, low birth-weight, birth defects, premature labor, new-born withdrawal symptoms, learning or behavioral problems, and even fetal death. The most common illicit drugs include cocaine, ecstasy, PCP, LSD, amphetamines, and heroin.
Smoking and Marijuana
Smoking cigarettes or marijuana during pregnancy can harm the baby. Cigarette smoke contains nicotine and carbon monoxide. These substances reduce the oxygen and nutrients the baby receives. Smoking during pregnancy has been linked to:
- Miscarriage
- Stillbirth
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Slow growth before birth
- Early labor
Children whose mothers smoked during or after pregnancy may have a higher chance of asthma, ear infections, colds, lung problems, learning difficulties, and behavior concerns.
Marijuana smoke also contains harmful chemicals. Regular marijuana use during pregnancy may raise the risk of:
- Low birth weight
- Premature birth
- Problems with growth and development
- Learning or behavior difficulties
If you are pregnant, you should not smoke and should not even be around others while they are smoking. Smoking and pregnancy is also discussed in the American Lung Association article and on Tobacco Free Life
Cocaine
Cocaine use during pregnancy can affect the unborn baby in many ways including:
early labor, low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, learning difficulties, and defects of the genitals, kidneys, and brain.
Heroin
Using heroin during pregnancy increases the chance of premature birth, low birth weight, breathing difficulties, brain bleeds and infant death. Babies can also be born addicted to heroin and can suffer from heroin withdrawal symptoms.
PCP & LSD
Both PCP and LSD users can have violent behavior, which may cause harm to the baby if the mother hurts herself. PCP use during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight, poor muscle control, brain damage, and withdrawal syndromes in the baby. LSD can cause genetic problems in the baby.
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is chemically related to amphetamine, which causes the heart rate of the mother and baby to increase. Taking methamphetamine during pregnancy can result in problems similar to those seen with the use of cocaine in pregnancy.
What are the effect of Other Drugs?
Even legal substances can affect pregnancy. Caffeine, vitamins, herbal teas, supplements, and over-the-counter medicines may not always be safe for an unborn baby. Please visit the links Nutritional Health as well as Pregnancy Risks and Pregnancy and Smoking.
Where Can I Find Additional Sources of Information?
Please visit the link “Ways we can help you”.
For additional information about your pregnancy and about alcohol, caffeine, and smoking, as well as medications, and drugs please visit the website Pregnancy And Children.
This National Institute of Health website also provides good information on drug usage during pregnancy.