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Overconsumption of alcohol or drugs can have potentially life-threatening consequences. Taking those risks for yourself is dangerous enough, but taking those risks on behalf of your unborn baby means a threat to both of your lives. Use of alcohol or illegal drugs during pregnancy puts your baby at risk of miscarriage, low birth weight, premature labor, placental abruption, and even death.

You likely know that women are not supposed to drink or consume drugs while pregnant, but it’s time to learn the details. What follows are the risks associated with drinking, smoking tobacco, or using three common illicit drugs, while pregnant.

Alcohol

When women consume alcohol while pregnant, it can negatively affect the growth of the baby’s brain and spinal cord cells. Depending on how much alcohol the baby was exposed to in the womb, he or she may suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Mild to severe FASD health complications may include physical developmental disorders or other birth defects, or learning and behavioral issues. In the most severe cases, heavy alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to preterm labor, miscarriage, or stillbirth.

Tobacco

Tobacco products contain chemicals that are dangerous to you and your baby, including nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar. According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), these chemicals increase the risk of both miscarriage and stillbirth. Other health risks may include problems with the placenta or slow fetal development, two factors that can also cause a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Marijuana

Like cigarette smoke, marijuana contains toxins that can impede your baby’s ability to get the necessary amount of oxygen needed to develop properly. Marijuana puts your baby at risk of miscarriage, premature birth, low birth weight, and other developmental or behavioral problems.

Heroin

Heroin is extremely addictive. Babies exposed to heroin while in the womb may develop a dependency on the drug themselves. Upon birth, such babies are born suffering from such withdrawal symptoms as convulsions, fever, irritability, and sleep abnormalities. Babies born to mothers who use heroin are also at greater risk of a preterm birth, low birth weight, low blood sugar, breathing difficulties, bleeding within the brain, and even fetal death.

Cocaine

According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG), pregnant mothers who use cocaine have a 25 percent increased chance of premature labor, and babies born to women who have used cocaine while pregnant have a higher risk of being born with a physical birth defect. According to an inpatient treatment center, like other drugs consumed during pregnancy, cocaine can cross the placenta and enter your baby’s circulatory system. Your baby won’t be able to process and eliminate cocaine as quickly as you can, which can complicate your baby’s health risks.

If you consume cocaine early in your pregnancy, it may increase the risk of a miscarriage. If your baby is exposed to cocaine later in your pregnancy, your baby could be at risk of being born with a birth defect, or could face placental abruption, a condition that occurs when the placenta peels away, either partially or completely, from the inner wall of the uterus. Placental abruption could lead to severe bleeding, premature birth, or even fetal death.

Babies exposed to cocaine later in pregnancy may also be born with a dependency, and may suffer from withdrawal symptoms such as sleeplessness, muscle spasms, feeding difficulties, and tremors.

Getting Help

Whether you are already pregnant or looking to become pregnant, if you regularly drink or utilize recreational drugs today, know that it’s never too late to quit. Every day that you choose to live drug and alcohol-free is a day you choose a healthier life for you and your baby.

You don’t have to go it alone — please talk with your doctor today.  He or she can help you get on the path to recovery and a healthy life ahead.