The use of drugs and/or alcohol during pregnancy is a serious problem with dangerous consequences.. The American Counsel for Drug Education explains that drug use while pregnant is doubly dangerous. Drugs may harm a woman's health and interfere with her ability to support the pregnancy and may harm the developing fetus. Drugs of all forms, including illegal drugs, tobacco and prescription drugs, are all dangerous to a developing fetus. These birth defects are 100 percent preventable.
Drug Use
The March of Dimes reports that a 2005 study showed almost 4 percent of pregnant women use illicit drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, amphetamines or heroin. The use of drugs can result in multiple problems for a baby, including being born prematurely, being underweight, having birth defects and having life-long learning and behavior problems. According to University of Virginia Health Systems, babies born with drugs in their system go through withdrawal from the drugs, leading to a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. NAS is a term to describe the entire cluster of symptoms a baby may have, such as trembling, excessive crying, seizures, poor feeding, diarrhea, dehydration and fever.
Tobacco Use
Tobacco is a drug and, at times, may be as dangerous to a fetus as an illegal drug. The March of Dimes reports that approximately 10 percent of women smoke while pregnant. Smoking nearly doubles a woman's risk of having a low-birth-weight baby as a result of the fetus being deprived of sufficient nourishment and oxygen. Babies born prematurely or with low birth weights are at an increased risk of having life long disabilities, mental retardation and learning problems. Problems due to smoking during pregnancy are preventable, and the U.S. Public Health Service, estimates that if all pregnant women in the U.S. stopped smoking, there would be an 11 percent reduction in stillbirths.
Alcohol Use
Drinking during pregnancy can result in a very serious condition known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The Centers for Disease Control is very clear that there is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy. Any and all alcohol puts the fetus at risk, and the damage done by FASD is lifelong and irreversible. FASD can result in a variety of physical symptoms, including abnormal facial features, small head size, low body weight, vision or hearing problems, and poor coordination. Alcohol affects the brain of a developing fetus and results in learning disabilities, speech and language delays, poor memory and low IQ. Behavioral problems also result from FASD, such as hyperactivity and aggression. Coupled with poor reasoning and judgment skills, these problems lead to trouble in school and, later in life, difficulties with relationships and employment as well as legal troubles.
