What is Answerbag?

Ask questions and share your knowledge with the world here on Answerbag. Get the best answers where there are no duplicate questions and questions are always open - our community of over 1,140,000 will find your answer!

Join For Free!
 

Deformities in Babies Due to Drug Abuse

Sunday, November 01, 2009
Related Tags: alcohol | deformities | fasd | drugs | tobacco
 

Instructions

Significance

  • Step 1:
    According to the Merck Manuals, 90 percent of women use prescription, over-the-counter or illegal drugs during their pregnancy. These drugs include alcohol and tobacco, and illicit drugs like heroin and amphetamines, as well as over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen.

Alcohol

  • Step 1:
    Alcohol is the major cause of drug-related deformities in babies. According to the CDC, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), are a series of deformities that occur as a result of alcohol use by pregnant women. Characteristics of FASD include learning disabilities, low body weight, and small head size.

Nicotine

  • Step 1:
    In a study published in the October 2009 issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, researchers found evidence that tobacco use may cause a deformity in the development of the brain. The study found that women who smoked nicotine were more likely to have offspring with psychotic episodes.

Marijuana

  • Step 1:
    In the same smoking study, researchers were unable to link psychotic episodes to marijuana use during pregnancy, fingering tobacco, rather than the act of smoking, as the cause of the developmental deformity. However, in a 1983 study by Bloch, large doses of cannabis were shown to cause reduced growth in laboratory rats and mice.

Warning

  • Step 1:
    Even herbal supplements or over-the-counter drugs like headache medicine or cold and flu medicine can cause deformities in babies. Contact your doctor before taking any medication during pregnancy.

Resources


Related Content
Genetic Testing for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a medical term used to describe a spectrum of physical, cognitive and behavioral disorders experienced by the offspring of a woman who drinks during the term of a...
What Are the Treatments for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum?
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, FASD, is a birth defect that affects an individual's life physically, emotionally, psychologically and socially. According to the National Institute of Alcohol...
What Are Treatments for Pregnant Drug Abusers?
Women who use drugs while they are pregnant must receive treatment for the health of their baby and themselves. Anything a pregnant woman puts in her body will potentially cross the placenta and...
About Pregnancy, Alcohol & Drugs
A typical pregnancy can last 40 weeks. During this nine-month period, the pregnant woman must visit a family practitioner or obstetrician to monitor the health of the fetus as well as check the...
Pregnancy Don'ts
When you're pregnant, whatever you do, eat or drink can affect your baby. Therefore, you must avoid certain things to protect your child.