Drinking drugs and smoking whilst being pregnant?

[pennygirl26]

I know someone who is due her baby in Dec. She only found out a few weeks ago she is pregnant.

She had very openly continued to smoke cigarettes and joints,but has been drinking also saying its not anything worse than what she's done in the past 6 months. She's also still taking coke every now and again. What can I do about this? I feel sick every time I see her. The other night I caught her buying a half bottle. It's just so dicgusting I don't know who to go to as I don't want her to know its me.

CoffeeorBust

And you are entitled to disagree with it. I think it is the case for many thousands of women, that they consume alcohol or other harmful substances against all reason and against their own better judgment when they are pregnant because they can’t do otherwise. That’s an illness. The confusion arises because most people have no problem not doing it, so they assume it is a choice for every other person. And with some (many) women, there is certainly an element of choice. But the more extreme and irrational the behaviour, the more harm it is doing and the less good reason there is for doing it, the more you can be sure that they are doing it because they cannot help it.

Mental health is a difficult one because not being able to engage with services, being paranoid, suspicious etc is a symptom of some conditions. Which of course is particularly dangerous in pregnancy.

Mental health is a difficult one because not being able to engage with services, being paranoid, suspicious etc is a symptom of some conditions. Which of course is particularly dangerous in pregnancy.

Exactly. And then you get, “Well, I don’t have a problem with going to midwife and asking for a blood test.”

Erm, yes, but you don’t have an illness that manifests as a fear of HCPs.

My sister did this. I attempted to get family to apply pressure for her to stop and provide support. She is an alcoholic. She just cut us out. Her daughter has suffered the results. Try but it probably won't prevent it. So sorry.