smoking weed during pregnancy

[spikeyd]

a friend of many years has just told me she is 16 weeks pregnant with her first child and will contine to smoke 2 spliffs a day.............is this right?

She is using drugs whilst pregnant.
I'm no scaremongerer and usually feel that what pregnant women do whilst pregnant is their look out, but if she cannot give up NOW to protect her child, whilst it's still in her, is she really going to be able to do it when it's born?
Given that cot death is more likely with families who smoke inside, how will that bode for weed??

I think she is walking a dangerous path, and I would imagine that her midwife will have noticed (difficult not to if she's doing it during the day) and I would think that she is keeping a very close eye on her.

Dangerous game, that.

I know people who have smoked for a long time and heavily, I do personally think that there is a correlation between weed and personality changes, so what hope is there for her deveping foetus?

Arm yourself with info, I really hope it is just ignorance that is making her take such a gamble with her baby.

Personally i think its irresponsible to smoke it before and after she has had the baby. In relation to social services, if her smoking weed is impacting on the babys health and/or her parenting (ie neglect) it will meet social services threshold.

Hi everyone and thank you for all your messages; @ KFFOREVER I am not sure I understand "..........it will meet the social services threshold" means (did google) pls advise. am still a bit in turmoil as my m8 has had clear amnio results and is now all into her pregnancy (thats the 3 day results not the ones you wait 2 weeks for) and I want everything to turn out ok for her. Does that make sense? don't really understand anything around having babies as not part of my world. thanks and all good wishes

If your friend knows that you don't normally offer an opinion maybe it might hold more weight if you do this time?

Don't get in a fight or lecture her just tell her you are against what she's doing but ultimately it's between her & her conscience. If she tries to in front of you just walk away, let her know its not something you can be around.

It's not nice & it's highly unlikely she'll listen to you but it's important you don't give the impression it's something that's ok, she might be looking for approval & no adverse opinion can be as good as.

I hope her baby's ok & she manages to kick the habit.

I smoked weed when pregnant. Before I'm jumped on I didn't know I was pregnant at the time.
I smoked until 16 weeks and I felt awful when I found out. I felt worse physically after i stopped as weirdly the cannabis stopped my morning sickness.
I would say these points to her:

• social services could take her baby away
• whilst cannabis hasn't been proved to be harmful whilst pregnant it doesn't mean it isn't.
• even if the cannabis doesn't affect the baby the lack of oxygen through smoking certainly can
• if she gets paranoia at all through weed she won't know whether she has anything really to worry about and could miss something (lack of baby moving for example)
• its better she quits now as there is NO WAY a baby can be taken care of properly whilst stoned. I can't imagine ever smoking it now.

If she can't give it up with only a bit of effort, she's an addict. Does she think of herself as an addict?

The problems presented by having an addicted parent once the baby has arrived could actually be far more significant than the potential damage caused while the baby is in utero.

I am very anti cannabis. I would not be friends with someone who openly smoked it. However, if you think it's acceptable when she's not pregnant, then you really need to put up with it now as only being angry when she's not pregnant means you are reducing her to nothing more than a human incubator. Cannabis smoking is either acceptable to you or it isn't.

I would focus on the addiction angle personally, and try to get her to give it up for her own sake, rather than purely for the baby.

I know someone who was told by their midwife when they were pregnant that if they were going to smoke weed they should at least not smoke the tobacco.

I don't agree with it btw, and her child has SN and is constantly in hospital although obviously I can't say for sure that smoking weed caused that, and there's every chance her son could have still had his problems if she hadn't smoked weed all the way through her pregnancy, but it's certainly not unknown to health care practitioners. You should encourage her to at least let her midwife know.

Also, I'm sure I read a study about a year or 2 ago which suggested that smoking weed during pregnancy could lead to ADHD in the child. You should do some research and show her the risks, she may not be aware of them.

I did some research into this a few years ago. What I found was a research study into Rastafarian women who take cannabis in tincture form (as drops in the mouth- only men are allowed to smoke it apparently). The women continue to take the tincture throughout pregnancy. The researchers found that the women generally had easier labours, less morning sickness and that the babies did better at one year old in cognitive testing than 'non drugged' babies.
It was an interesting read, I'm sure it's still on the tinternet somewhere.
TBH it would be the 'smoking' bit rather than the 'cannabis' bit that concerned me more.

I agree with what Dahlen says about the significant damage being when the baby is born but disagree with the either its acceptable to you or it isn't statement. Most people would find a night out drinking normally acceptable but then not when pregnant. Its the same principle.

Depends whether you think the unborn baby has more rights than the mother. I don't.

A loving mother will obviously not choose to endanger her baby through smoking cannabis/cigarettes, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, or whatever (unless addicted or otherwise suffering MH problems), so I think it's ok to judge privately, as indeed I do. But I would not judge openly (although I would reprot for cannabis use, but would have done so regardless of the reproductive status of the mother).

I do not want to live in a world where mothers are not allowed control over their own lives or bodies simply because they are pregnant.

Gosh feeling overwhelmed now...............firstly think if I suggested social services would take baby away she would ask me how cud they find out etc.............does unborn baby have more rights than mother? maybe not but she is now so into giving birth and stuff I feel in this instance baby needs to be protected. thanks again everyone

I do think it depends in which form she is taking it tbh.
Midwives used to use it for pain relief during childbirth a few centuries ago.
The herb grows wild, in fact I had some in my garden once, I never grew it and it just emerged. It was known to have many medicinal qualities.
Now the resin is not the same and obviously if not manufactured yourself, who knows what is added.

Peeriebear.

Ha all I'm saying is my labours were 2 hours, ds1 - 90 mins ds2 and 30 mins dd.
I am not a Rasta but had a few Rasta friends. You are quite right in your post above, smoking is only a problem if it is mixed with tobacco as its the tobacco that is harmful. However, don't know / never met anyone who could smoke it without tobacco.

I agree that you should express your concerns openly and present her the facts. Does she not have even a tiniest doubt that it might harm/affect the baby?

I think I would ask her to imagine a scenario when the baby - god forbid - is born with a serious medical condition. Or even not so serious, but not a 100% healthy - these things happen. How would she feel? Would she really think it had nothing to do with her smoking pot? And maybe it didn't. But she probably would never know what has actually caused this. Would she be able to sleep at night? Or would she be thinking over and over that it could be all her fault?

I really hope it does all go well with her. But if it doesn't, would she be able to forgive herself?

I don't think the child has more rights than the mother but I personally think that if you choose to get pregnant or continue with a pregnancy then you have a moral duty of care towards the unborn child. It's not about you anymore and so you should really suspend certain foods & habits etc that could be harmful.

I don't think you should do anything that could potentially harm the baby unless the alternative is harmful to you & then it's the individuals decision.

The skunk available now is much stronger than it used to be, sprayed with lord knows what & the point has already been made about the resin. I've seen too many people on the mental health wards I've worked on due to unregulated cannabis use. It's no good for either of them.

But it's her choice & there isn't much you can do about it.

ok here's the thing - she smokes 2 joints a day containing Thai - my flatmate tells me its not that strong and smokes it herself - flatmate is also my friend's dealer. have not voiced my concerns to her.

@ CuteLittleToes "does she not have even the tiniest doubt....." tbh I feel she does, but she has told me that she could not exist without having a joint or 2 every evening, and if she is feeling ok then everything else on her planet will be ok too. Does that make sense?

I personally couldn't... smoking is bad enough for the baby, but add weed on top of that, it can't be good. However, my sister-in-law has 4 girls, and smoked weed through ALL her pregnancies, every single pregnancy was fine, and all her girls are bright, intelligent, and a pleasure to be around. Saying that, you'd never forgive yourself if you miscarried, had a still birth, or gave birth and something was wrong. I think I'd immediately assume it was something I'd done. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can really do to get your friend to stop, everyone's lifestyle is different; maybe ask yourself if you'd be in the same dilemma if she was eating pate everyday???

had no idea it was dangerous to eat pate during pregnancy tbh.......all I can say is if I became pregnant I would arm myself with relevant facts concerning healthy eating, lifestyle and so - it seems logical to me that one should take responsibility to assure baby is safe and well first and foremost and one should make sacrifices accordingly. frankly I am staggered at the way some women behave so irresponsibly and continue to smoke, drink, take drugs and so on - it seems so selfish, inter alia.

I am not saying it is right to smoke weed whilst pg but many people have a very 'TV/film' idea of what 'smokers' are like.

They do not all sit on their arse smoking fat spliffs all day doing nothing and giggling or becoming paranoid. Many people have a spliff with a cuppa in the morning go to work and have a very productive day, come home and have a couple during the evening while having no problem getting housework done, meals cooked, kids played with/fed/bathed and bedded etc.

If they are having a smoke outside and they change their top/brush teeth after then it should not affect children. I am surprised she can smoke while pg without being sick though.

Many people smoke fags during pg so 1/2 joints may not be too bad but would be better if she can quit at least till after birth.

As eric says the evidence for foetal impact is limited and confounded by other factors leaving any changes statistically insignificant. There are some studies that show heavy cannabis use (more than one spliff a day) may lead to long term neurological deficits.

Given that the general medical advice is not to take any drug that is not necessary during pregnancy, it must never be forgotten that cannabis is a drug and therefore should really be avoided.

However there is very, very strong evidence that smoking during pregnancy is harmful. Most people smoke cannabis with tobacco so the tobacco alone must be taken into account when considering harm.

All that said it is your friend's choice and all you can do is express your concern and then leave it. If you are worried from a child protection point of view when the baby comes get in touch with social services.