The health of the baby can be affected by a multitude of maternal and environmental factors. The age, the health, the stress of the mother or the genetic factors have an important role in the foetus development.
The effect of different substances depends on the development period of the foetus. If some of them are harmful during the pregnancy, other substances manifest their negative effects only in certain development phases of the foetus. In the first ten weeks of pregnancy, most organs are developed, so the effect of drugs administrated before the twentieth day of gestation either destroys the embryo either has no effect on it (following the principle “all or nothing”). After this period drug effect is manifesting by structural organ’s malformations, functional disorders with precocious or tardily manifestation.
If by habitude the mother consumes drugs or noxious substances, drug use during pregnancy can complicate the process and harm the baby. Alcohol and drug use can generate a lot of other problems.
Injected drugs, such as heroin or amphetamines expose the women to the risk of other complications. The use of contaminated needles and injected equipment raises the possibility of the B and C hepatitis virus and of HIV infestation, viruses which can be transmitted to the foetus, too.
When a pregnant woman administrates herself a drug, this one can easily go through the placenta into the baby’s blood, the foetus being exposed to the same drug effects as the mother’s.
A baby born by a mother, who has consumed heroin during her pregnancy, also becomes a drug dependent. After a few hours from birth, in default of drugs, the baby gets in withdrawal, which is has severe manifestations at this age, threatening the child’s life.
The babies born by a Cocaine, tranquilizers and amphetamines dependent mother, have a smaller weight at birth and their intellectual development is more difficult than a baby with the same age, but born by a mother who did not experienced drugs. A recent study made on monkeys shows that the foetus of female gender is more protected of the effect of the Cocaine taken by the mother during the pregnancy. In case of a foetus of male gender things are little different: even before birth they seem to be affected by the drug and they are more exposed to the risk of becoming drug dependant.
Only in United States of America 7.5 millions of babies have been exposed to Cocaine before their birth. Annual there are born from 30000 to 160000 babies who were accessible to Cocaine while they were in their mother’s belly.
Smoking during the pregnancy is very dangerous because tobacco contains more than 2000 substances, including nicotine and carbon monoxide. These substances go through the placenta and reduce the oxygen supplying of the foetus, which raises the risk of mental retard, of spontaneous miscarriages, of premature births. Moreover, many drugs can pass in the maternal milk, the child being exposed to ingestion of dangerous chemical products.
Cannabis use during pregnancy affects the growing and the development of the foetus. Small weight at birth and reduced head circumference are associated with a high level risk of memory and behavior problems. The Cannabis effects on the baby’s life are stronger than the effects produced by tobacco.
For certain, the eventual problems generated by drug use during pregnancy, smoking and consuming alcohol, suggest that these women must ask for advice and help of the professional doctors.