I drank and smoked heavily - have I hurt my baby?

[emilyh1]

Hi everyone,

I took a pregnancy test on Tuesday and found out I'm 1-2 weeks pregnant. I recently celebrated by 30th birthday which saw me binge drinking, smoking and taking cocaine (I apologise for the frankness of this topic, but I want to be entirely honest) for the weeks after conception.

I want to see this pregnancy through and want to make sure I have a healthy baby at the end of it, but I'm so worried that I've damaged it.

Can anybody shed some light?

Thanks in advance,
Emily x

You don't share a blood supply with the embryo in the first days of pregnancy so that may have helped but no-one will be able to say for certain, all you can do is look after yourself as best you can health wise from now on so I would try and let that be your focus rather than what has been done.
Are you a regular smoker? Do you need support to quit? Are you confident you can avoid alcohol and other harmful substances for the next 9 months?
Pregnancy is a big responsibility but it seems like you are keen to prioritise the health of your pregnancy which can only be good news now.

@SouthwestSis

You don't share a blood supply with the embryo in the first days of pregnancy so that may have helped but no-one will be able to say for certain, all you can do is look after yourself as best you can health wise from now on so I would try and let that be your focus rather than what has been done. Are you a regular smoker? Do you need support to quit? Are you confident you can avoid alcohol and other harmful substances for the next 9 months? Pregnancy is a big responsibility but it seems like you are keen to prioritise the health of your pregnancy which can only be good news now.

Thanks for this. Really appreciate your help.

I'm not a long-term smoker - took up vaping a few months ago and won't have any issues giving it up.

My lifestyle is definitely still very 'young' - my friends/boyfriend and I are very sociable, but if the pregnancy is viable I plan on moving back to the countryside where I'm originally from x

I can't remember where I saw it but it was a doctor discussing exactly this - substance and alcohol use before women are aware they are pregnant. His description was that without a blood supply shared, it's more binary - you may be more likely to miscarry early on, but if you don't, you're unlikely to have caused harm if you stop once you know you're pregnant (and before you share blood supply later in the first trimester). That may help to put your mind at ease a bit. Worth doing some Googling of real data on this sorry I don't have the link to the video.

I drank heavily before I realised I was pregnant- around the same gestation as you, probably. I think this is quite common and while obviously not ideal and a big worry at the time, it's not something I think about now I have small, demanding children running about the place.
Wishing you well op. Try not to worry and focus on doing your best now x

Honestly I thought you were going to say you did that for your entire pregnancy!!!

You are 2 weeks pregnant from when you conceive so guessing you were 3-4 weeks?

Honestly it will do virtually nothing its a ball of cells. you may be marginally more likely to miscarry? But there is no reason it shouldn't be viable and I'd say no harm done really.

Put down the vape pen, no more all night disco parties 😂 and congrats!!!! Enjoy your pregnancy

I took ecstasy, coke, smoked weed and drank gallons of booze in the first 4/5 weeks before I knew I was pregnant.
Stopped as soon as I knew though.

DS is an incredibly healthy child of 9.
Currently running up and down the stairs like a demon and demanding food.

I'm pretty sure you'll be fine!

Try not to worry, I’ve worked with a lot of women who had a bfp of booze and fags. Their kids were ok and to a woman they all had mum guilt over it.

FOLIC ACID, you need folic acid like today.

Remember, at this super early stage it's not really a baby - as PP has said it's a cluster of cells - I doubt anything is actually going to cause those cells damage at this stage. Good luck and stay well.

@RozHuntleysLeftHand

Yep. Same. Not the E though.

Went to every scan absolutely petrified those early weeks would have caused later damage, but DS is 5, and apart from being an absolute raving lunatic, is wonderfully perfect.

I gave up smoking, drugs and an eating disorder that day. Still drink a little but nothing like I used to.

It didn’t feel like it at the time, but DS saved me from a very different, and increasingly quite dangerous life. Am very glad he decided to surprise me with his presence

As everyone else has said, it’s unlikely. But you need to stop the smoking and the cocaine for good.

And get some folic acid today!

Hi @emilyh1

The first trimester is very important for embryo development but honestly if you stop the drinking/smoking/drugs now and make some adjustments its highly likely your baby will be fine.

In the first twelve weeks the miscarriage rate is 20-30% anyone and regardless of if you do everything right.
To put it in context I have miscarried after taking really high dose of caffeine every day (didn't know I was pregnant)
I also miscarried another pregnancy after doing everything by the book, taking all the supplements, exercise, meditation, and little to no caffeine.

There's a lot we can't control for in pregnancy. You will be able to access prenatal testing as part of your care, at this point you will have more information about the health of your baby.

The scary thing is no one is guaranteed a healthy baby at the end, things can happen at any stage preterm labour, problems during the birth even if they did everything as perceived to be the the best behaviours during pregnancy.

If you want to keep the baby, start taking folic acid, vitamin d, a good pregnancy multivitamin and omega 3/dha supplement as soon as possible.

@Echobelly

Remember, at this super early stage it's not really a baby - as PP has said it's a cluster of cells - I doubt anything is actually going to cause those cells damage at this stage. Good luck and stay well.

Well yeah, but the cluster of cells stage is incredibly important because every one of those cells is going to develop into thousands upon thousands of others. The fewer cells you've got, the more important each is.

OP, hopefully it'll be fine, but I think you'd be better off speaking to your midwife about this at booking in- they may want to monitor the pregnancy more closely. The Internet specialises in worst-case scenarios so I wouldn't advise googling.

@Fluffycloudland77

FOLIC ACID, you need folic acid like today.

Started taking the day I found out I was pregnant 🙌🏼