Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Alcohol Pregnancy

Question:
Has anyone here or anyone you know smoked or drank through their pregnancy, and what was the result?

Answer:
Ask her to at least keep an eye on the babies fetal proteins. Felicia had a problem before she was born where proteins were low at one point, which could be a possible identifier of Down's Syndrome. Are you sure she is actually going to a Dr.? I had a freind who for all 3 of her pregnencies, didn't go to a Dr. till she was about 6 months pregnent, so see if she is actually going to a Dr. if she is, then maybe go with her one time, and start asking questions about the cigarettes/pot/alcohol, hypathetical questions. If you can't do that, call a couple of OBGYN's and see if they have any literature they can give you. One thing that is going through my head is that if she is abusive towards the child now before it is born, how is she going to be after its born? I know that right now, its probably because she is in denial or something like that, being a parent is hard, especially if there is no father around to help. I think you need to talk to someone like family planning or something. Isn't it nice that people have such regard for their children these days. even if she manages to luck out and not have something seriously wrong with that kid, she has succesfully guarenteed it a generaly less healthy life than most other children. Smoking durring pregnancy may not necessarily have the kid pop out with three heads or something, but that child's highest possible level of health is going to be lower than other children. That is, the child will be more prone to sickness, will have a harder time being in top shape, will have a harder time resisting the urge to smoke themselves. I can't imagine Pot's any bettr. Drinking? Well, samn bloody thing. The fetal child now gets to go through bouts of dehydration, and runs the risk of being less cared for while mom's tipsy! Yay! Look to toher people for stats and stuff... all I can say is that I've never met a person born to a smoking/drinking mother who was as well off as they could be, and it is NOT FAIR. This kid has not got a choice here, it's mother is making problems for it that it will have to deal with for a long time. This isn't anyuthing new. Tell your friend to smarten up. Bad enough people who smoke around babies, lets smother our children before they can go anywhere to get away.... (and those nine pre-birth months are a good time to QUIT SMOKING so that a kid has a fighting chance of breathing *after* it popsout. :P)