Worried about alcohol and drugs before realising I was pregnant

[GeorgiasBaby]

Advice/support desperately needed! I’m 7 weeks & 2 days pregnant - I did not find out I was pregnant until literally a few days ago. I’m freaking out so much, this wasn’t planned and I’ll be completely honest throughout the last 7/8 weeks I’ve been a bit of a riot, I’ve been on holidays and to a festival and to parties where I’ve drank alcohol (not loads) but I’ve also taken a concoction of recreational substances (various). I am spiralling in my head, what if I’ve caused damage!! How would I know? What do I do?! I obviously want to keep my baby as does my partner, just to be clear I am not a drug addict nor do I have issues with drugs or alcohol but I definitely have been a little wild prior to finding out I’m pregnant. I’m really upset and I’m so so so anxious and scared. Obviously Google hasn’t helped, I feel so silly.

Such an immature response, likelihood of harm to the baby is virtually nil and you know, people do take drugs recreationally and the sky does not fall in.

Ah, I see. My apologies. ❤️

Drugs can cause problems, i know someone who has a drug addict and took drugs in early pregnancy resulting in miscarriages or Mmc every time. Eventually got off drugs and carried baby to term but baby had some disabilities.

Stay off the drugs.

I think posters are going a bit wild now and it's really not helpful to the OP.

@ThePieceHall @Larrythecatforpm - no one is suggesting it's ok to take drugs or drink during pregnancy.

There is a big difference between drinking/taking drugs unknowingly at the early stages, before the placenta is formed and blood supply connected vs knowingly doing so throughout the pregnancy.

As a PP mentioned, you won't find a study to confirm because it would be unethical to give pregnant women drink and drugs and see at what point it affects the baby. Testing on pregnant women is very limited as a result, expecting better is a good book for this.

However, we know that before the blood streams are connected the embryo grows independently for the first few weeks. The biggest risk will be miscarriage but that's less relevant in the OPs case who is more concerned about the impact on the baby.

You both have totally valid concerns but maybe make a new thread about them for women drinking though out pregnancy etc

Realistically it's unlikely to have caused any damage if it's a one off. When you speak to your midwife be brutally honest, disclose everything. If there is a risk they can give extra scans to make sure development is progressing as should.

My friend took drugs (coke and weed) and drank loads before she found out she was pregnant. For about 8 weeks. She and baby were fine. A women I know (social worker working with this women) took drugs for all of her pregnancy and (luckly) the baby was fine.

Oh my goodness OP, please calm down. You’re only 7 weeks pregnant, and it’s alcohol (a lot of it) that would be an issue, not coke or ketamine.

Personally I wouldn’t DREAM of telling doctors and nurses. In my experience, they’re as much judgmental fucks as some of the posters on this thread have been, especially as it relates to women’s health.

Best of luck.

(Which festival was it?! Always looking for festival rec’s!)

A lot of women make the choice to carry on with their life as normal when ttc. You never know how long it might take, so why put your life on hold. I've never taken drugs but I still drank alcohol and had my nights out / weekends away as normal when ttc. Both my dc's were absolutely fine.
In your shoes, I'd just mention the drug use to the midwife, that's the best person to advise you.

This. Forget about it now and enjoy your pregnancy. Congrats!

In your shoes, I'd just mention the drug use to the midwife, that's the best person to advise you.

id hard disagree with this. What is a midwife going to tell you? They can’t say, ‘it’ll all be fine’ legally and a lot of them are very judgmental and frankly shit.

The early weeks are everything or nothing.
If something is wrong this early, the foetus will just give up.
Surprisingly big proportion of pregnancies ends like that, without a need for a clear reason.

I'm not sure telling the medics will help in any way - there are no studies, so it would be about their people skills, not specific knowledge.

Just don't do it again.

Your placenta isn’t formed yet so there was no maternal to embryo blood to blood transfer. You haven’t harmed your baby.

Hi op just to note this will be on yours and babies medical notes forever. If you’re not with the father and you think there might be a custody fight don’t give him any help with his case. There’s no medicine or treatment they can give you as an antidote to what you’ve taken so I wouldn’t say anything in your shoes.

The truth is you have no way of knowing, they don’t conduct studies of the effects of cocaine and ketamine on unborn babies as that would be highly unethical. You’ll probably know for sure in 2 years if they’re meeting milestones.

I realised I was pregnant on a hen do. This was a few weeks after being told I would find it hard to conceive and having what I thought was a period...
I felt exactly the same as you. I was immediately physically sick with worry. Next week I had some spotting and went into a massive spiral. My GP was great and pretty much just laughed at me - which made me feel instantly relieved. She referred me for a scan and I could see the heartbeat. Talk to your GP and hopefully get some reassurance.

Edited to say - read another poster mention go records. Obviously you need to consider this with advice from people that have been affected by this. I only drank alcohol so mentioned this and the spotting and was referred for an 8 week scan

The way I see it at 7 weeks the baby is basically a clump of cells with no umbilical cord / zero transfer between you at it.

It's literally the most okay / least bad time for it to happen.

Probably not that kind of response. Do you feel good now?

Posting on here, you will always get a range of opinions. Some people plan TTC very carefully, others carry on as normal until they get a positive pregnancy test.

Please be kind to yourself, you can’t change the past. But you can make changes from now, including avoiding stress and anxiety.

PPs have made some good points about early pregnancy (first couple of weeks is just ovulation, implantation, cells multiplying) and the real development is from 6-8 weeks onwards. Personally I won’t tell a midwife, unless there was an ongoing issue (eg addictions) you wanted their help with. For a couple of casual recreational drugs before you realised you were pregnant, no.

The situation is far from ideal, but focus on the next 7.5 months.

(PS I did something similar, alcohol and MDMA at a NYE party, found out I was pregnant 2 weeks later. Folic acid and clean living, my DD is at Uni now!)

Posting on here, you will always get a range of opinions. Some people plan TTC very carefully, others carry on as normal until they get a positive pregnancy test.

Please be kind to yourself, you can’t change the past. But you can make changes from now, including avoiding stress and anxiety.

PPs have made some good points about early pregnancy (first couple of weeks is just ovulation, implantation, cells multiplying) and the real development is from 6-8 weeks onwards. Personally I won’t tell a midwife, unless there was an ongoing issue (eg addictions) you wanted their help with. For a couple of casual recreational drugs before you realised you were pregnant, no.

The situation is far from ideal, but focus on the next 7.5 months.

(PS I did something similar, alcohol and MDMA at a NYE party, found out I was pregnant 2 weeks later. Folic acid and clean living, my DD is at Uni now!)