Cocaine and Other Drug Use
If you have used drugs in the past, before you knew that you were pregnant, there is good news. It appears that past use of narcotics or a single use of narcotics before you found out you were pregnant isn’t likely to have a significant effect on your baby. However, if you continue to use it throughout your pregnancy, it can lead to devastating consequences.
Cocaine
Cocaine can harm your child by crossing the placenta, damaging the placenta and restricting fetal growth, particularly of the head. Other consequences of continued cocaine use include:
- Miscarriage
- Premature labor
- Stillbirth
- Stroke at birth
- Long-term developmental problems including: chronic diarrhea, irritability, excessive crying, neurological and behavioral problems, motor development deficits and lower intelligence
Though the more one uses cocaine the more grave the consequences, even a single use during the third trimester can trigger contractions or an abnormal fetal heartbeat. Thus, it is important that you let your practitioner know about any cocaine you have used since you’ve become pregnant. Further, if you have any difficulty quitting cocaine, be sure seek professional help immediately.
Other Narcotics
Like cocaine, drug use of any kind without a prescription, including heroin, methadone, crack ecstasy, LSD and PCP, can cause serious harm to a developing fetus and to the pregnant mother. It is essential that you keep your practitioner informed of any drugs you are using during your pregnancy in order to help you quit taking them. By having a drug-free pregnancy, you can help ensure the safety of your child.
Pregnant women who use cocaine as part of their lifestyle should be encouraged to seek help from a cocaine drug rehab center for the benefit of their baby and to improve their own lives.
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