Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs
When expectant mothers use alcohol and other drugs, they may not realize the effects that it will have on their unborn child. This is especially true during the early part of the pregnancy. Sometimes, before women even realize that they are pregnant, they will abuse alcohol and other drugs. The earliest parts of pregnancy are when the systems are forming. Such abuse can be very detrimental to the unborn baby. It is for this reason that men and women should not use alcohol and other drugs if they are planning on having a baby anytime soon.
The biggest effects that alcohol and drugs can have on an unborn baby include disabilities and birth defects. The babies can also have issues with behavior. Commonly, babies who are born to mothers that drink during the pregnancy are born with what they call fetal alcohol syndrome. This is one of many alcohol related problems that babies can be born with. Some symptoms of this may include abnormal looking facial features. This may even include eyelids that tend to look as if they are drooping. You will see that some of them have low birth weights, or even have heart problems when they are born. These are all huge risks that you are putting onto the baby. Some of the problems that these babies are born with may follow them well into adulthood. This may cause them to be made fun of and have other issues growing up and being socially accepted.
Learning disorders are a huge problem that babies face when born to mothers that abuse alcohol and drugs. This is simply put - not fair to the baby. For a child to have to deal with these problems growing up because the parents chose to abuse alcohol and drugs is really selfish on the part of the parents. This really just shows that they were not ready for the responsibility of a child.
Other drugs out there, such as heroin, cocaine, and meth may even cause low birth weights as well. These drugs will also cause the baby to be born in a state of withdrawal which can be very distressing to a newborn. They will have become dependent on these drugs as well as the mother. This is not fair to them. It is a very tough road ahead of them to break this chemical dependency, and they may always have some sort of issues with chemical imbalances and other mood disorders related to this.
Not only are they going to have issues when they are first born, but you will also see that some of the babies will have issues as they reach adolescence as well. This is because the imbalance will have them worrying with mood disorders such as anger, stress, aggression, and sometimes depression and thoughts of suicide. You also have to realize that being exposed to the drugs as an unborn baby naturally gives them the urge to want it.
What this means is that they will be prone to doing drugs and abusing alcohol as they get older. This is putting a predisposed pattern of addiction into them before they are even born. This is something that is well avoidable and should be considered well before you even think about becoming pregnant. People that use and abuse alcohol and other drugs really do not have any right to start having babies. It will only put the babies at risk of other problems both early and later in life.
As you can see, the effects that drinking and using recreational drugs can have on an unborn child are far too extreme to risk it. You should really never even consider the option if you are pregnant. Remember to put the health and wellness of your unborn baby first. This is something that great parents do - not only during pregnancy, but for the duration of the baby’s life. Remember this as you are trying to conceive, and pass the information along to your friends and family members that may be considering having a child. This is something that every expectant mother should know and understand when it comes to the well being of her child.