Alcohol and recreational drugs are never your best friends during pregnancy. Are you planning to get pregnant or you are already pregnant? It is advisable to put an end to substance use in the interest of your unborn child. Getting intoxicated on alcohol can cause accidents that may hurt your unborn child physically. The substances can equally penetrate the placenta to hurt the baby. If you are already hooked on substances, you can find help at Ayahuasca retreats, and they will guide you on how to be free from the impact of drugs.
Possible effects of drugs and alcohol on the unborn child
In times past, the placenta was thought to keep toxic substances away from the baby, but new revelations show that substances can seep through the placenta into the fetus. If such substances are harmful, they can affect the unborn child one way or the other; they can equally cause certain birth defects that may deform the unborn child for a lifetime. Unfortunately, some birth defects can lead to stillbirth. Some of the common effects that substance use can have on the unborn child are highlighted below:
- An increased chance of birth defects
- Premature babies
- Underweight babies
- Stillborn births
Aside from the above, the child can also develop behavioral problems in early childhood if the mother is exposed to substances like marijuana and alcohol during the pregnancy. The child may also suffer from attentiveness-related problems or have memory issues. If you use substances like tobacco, alcohol or cocaine during pregnancy, your baby can also end up with a change in brain structure; this problem can persist into adolescence. Other names given to marijuana are pot, dope, ganja, and weed.
Bear in mind also that the effect of cocaine in the fetus can be for a lifetime. If you smoke crack while pregnant, you will give birth to crack babies, and the babies will end up with peculiar mental and physical problems. Most of the problems associated with substance abuse during pregnancy have to do with impaired attention to tasks, information-processing, and cognitive performance.
How to find help
You should not hesitate to get in touch with professionals if you are already abusing substances and you are preparing to get pregnant or already pregnant. You should consider the expertise of the professionals when choosing holistic drug rehabs to treat addiction. Find out also how long they have been in the profession before you pitch your tent with them.
