Cocaine and Other Drug Use In Pregnancy

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.

Further, if you have any difficulty quitting cocaine, be sure to seek professional help immediately. If quitting an addictive habit like cocaine is a problem for a family member, friend, or yourself, making the right choice of treatment can be hard. Rehab centers can help in extreme cases of addiction, while milder cases may just require family intervention.

It is still immensely important to seek help from a rehab center as soon as possible if you’re pregnant and cannot stop using cocaine. Remember that this isn’t just about your health, but the potential health of your child as well.

Don’t put this problem off until the last minute when it only takes a few moments to find a number of solutions available online.

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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