Drug Use During Pregnancy: Risks and How to Get Safe Treatment
Every Mother Should Know How to Protect the Tiny Life Growing Inside Her
Drugs, by their very nature, cause harm to both the user and the people around them — as we regularly see in news reports and other media. Today, substance use is becoming more common among people struggling with family problems, social difficulties, or problems at school. When these individuals use drugs during pregnancy, the effects fall on both mother and baby — the fetus’s growth, development, and behavior can all be affected. Here we focus on women who are dependent on drugs while pregnant, because the dangers facing the unborn child are often far greater than a mother might imagine. Every mother should know how to protect the tiny life growing inside her.
The Three Most Commonly Used Substances
1. Cigarettes
Nicotine, cigarette smoke, and the various chemicals in tobacco affect neurotransmitters and cause blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow through the placenta. As a result, the baby receives less food and oxygen, leading to low birth weight, malnutrition during pregnancy, impaired growth and development, and a higher rate of infant death. Smoking also causes developmental and behavioral problems, such as impaired intelligence, learning difficulties, attention-deficit symptoms, aggression, and later social difficulties.
Beyond the effects on the baby, smoking also harms the mother herself — increasing her risk of “vascular occlusive disease,” and raising her risk of respiratory infections, most commonly “bronchitis,” which in turn affects the pregnancy as well.
2. Alcohol (spirits, beer, wine, or any beverage containing alcohol)
The effects of alcohol on the fetus appear when a mother drinks around the time of conception or during the first three months of pregnancy. The severity depends on how much is consumed. Heavy drinking can cause the baby to develop the condition medically known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), producing abnormal physical features such as short eye openings, a long thin upper lip, a flat nose, and an upturned nose tip.
Alcohol also destroys nerve cells, causing impaired growth, low birth weight, and slow weight gain after birth, as well as a small head circumference. It also impairs intellectual development, causing memory problems and abnormal movement, and raises the risk of psychiatric conditions such as anxiety disorders and depression, delinquent behavior, and other behavioral problems, such as hyperactivity and attention-deficit symptoms. In severe cases, it can lead to miscarriage or death in utero during delivery.
Amphetamines
3. Amphetamine-type substances, such as ice and ecstasy
When a mother uses these while pregnant, the baby is at risk of low birth weight, congenital heart defects, brain hemorrhage, and brain death, along with damage to nerve cells and a small head circumference — which affects attention and memory, and can lead to long-term behavioral problems in the child.
The Best Way to Prevent Harm
The best way to prevent harm is to avoid all forms of drug involvement, whether or not you are pregnant, because the resulting effects are very difficult to undo. For those who are already pregnant and have not yet stopped, or have only recently stopped using drugs, the unborn baby needs special care. During pregnancy, mothers should:
- Attend regular prenatal appointments with an obstetrician to monitor the baby’s development
- Follow the obstetrician’s advice closely
- Stop and completely avoid all drugs, without exception
- If a family member smokes, ask them to smoke outside the home — cigarette smoke contains a toxin called “tar,” which affects the unborn baby, the mother-to-be, and other family members even more than the smoker themselves
After the baby is born, care shouldn’t stop there. Parents should bring the baby to see a pediatrician for ongoing monitoring, screening, and developmental and behavioral assessment, to catch common problems early, such as vision or hearing impairment, so that support and early intervention can reduce future learning and social difficulties.
Beyond the effects on the baby, mothers who use drugs during pregnancy also face serious risks themselves — a higher risk of infection during pregnancy than the general population, and a higher risk of severe postpartum hemorrhage, which can be fatal. We want to remind anyone who uses drugs, smokes, or drinks alcohol that if you discover you are pregnant, you must consider the safety of both your unborn baby and yourself. Prenatal health care is extremely important — see a doctor for antenatal care and follow medical advice closely. You should stop using drugs, smoking, and drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Counseling and drug treatment, or help quitting alcohol or drugs, is available around the clock at Day One Rehabilitation Center, a drug treatment and rehabilitation center, to keep both mother and baby as healthy and safe as possible.
For More Information, Contact Us At
99/1 Moo 6, Si Chula, Mueang Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Nayok 26000, Thailand
+66 64-645-5091
[email protected]
Mon – Sun: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (ICT)