Download Pregnancy Precautions - Smoking Alcohol and

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Pregnancy Precautions:
Smoking, Alcohol and Drug Use
Smoking
Women who are planning a pregnancy or who think they
might be pregnant should stop smoking and avoid being
around sources of secondhand smoke, including others
who smoke.
• Smoking increases the possibility of preterm birth,
miscarriage, stillbirth, bleeding problems and
abnormalities of the placenta.
• Babies born to smoking mothers are at high risk for
stunted growth, breathing problems and asthma,
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and behavior
and learning problems.
• Use of birth control pills combined with cigarette
smoking dramatically increases the risk of
cardiovascular problems, especially blood clots, in the
mother.
• Secondhand smoke is a dangerous health hazard
to everyone, especially unborn babies, infants and
children. It can badly damage their smaller, less
developed lungs and brains.
• Health care professionals can help with quitting
smoking. There is also free help at the Kentucky Quit
Line, 1-800-QUIT NOW (1-800-784-8669).
Alcohol
Women who are planning a pregnancy or who think they
may be pregnant should stop drinking alcohol.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a serious health
problem that can tragically affect a baby before it is
born. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a life-long disability
that can be totally prevented if the mother doesn’t drink
during her pregnancy.
Alcohol kills brain cells, and the body has made the
adult number of brain cells by about 20 weeks gestation.
Drinking alcohol while the baby’s brain is developing will
permanently decrease the number of brain cells in
the baby.
Babies with FAS tend to weigh less and be shorter
than those who do not have the syndrome. They also may
have:
• Smaller heads
• Deformed facial features
• Abnormal joints and limbs
• Poor coordination
• Problems with learning and memory
• Mental health problems and mental retardation
• School failure
• Trouble with the law later in life
• Alcohol and drug problems
Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most common known
preventable cause of mental retardation. Also, alcohol
and caffeine can prevent the absorption of folic acid
and iron that is needed during pregnancy. There is
no safe amount of alcohol that women can consume
during pregnancy, and it’s also recommended that no
more than two cups of caffeine-containing beverages
(coffees, teas, colas, hot chocolate) be consumed per
day during pregnancy.
9-742 11/08
859-257-1000
•
ukhealthcare.uky.edu
•
1-800-333-8874
Use/abuse of illegal,
recreational and prescription drugs
• Domestic Violence Abuse Hotline: 1-800-752-6200
Pregnant women should avoid the use of any and all
illegal or recreational drugs during pregnancy.
Help for low-income women pregnant or
nursing and their babies and young children.
Drugs such as narcotics, amphetamines, methadone,
OxyContin,® cocaine, heroin and others can adversely
affect the mother’s pregnancy and the baby.
• HANDS Home: 502-564-3756
Visiting program for overburdened first-time
parents, smoking cessation counseling or classes.
These drugs cause increased fetal death, placental
abruption and decreased blood flow to the fetus,
premature delivery and poor nutrition. The drugs pass to
the developing baby and have been associated with birth
defects including cleft palate, heart defects and other
anomalies. Babies may go through severe withdrawal,
even seizures, after birth. Drug-exposed babies are
more likely to die of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Babies exposed to marijuana are more likely to develop
leukemia in childhood.
Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait® is a multifaceted
partnership of the March of Dimes, the Johnson
& Johnson Pediatric Institute and the Kentucky
Department for Public Health. The primary goal of
the initiative is a 15 percent reduction in the rate of
“preventable” single preterm births – particularly
babies born late-preterm (four to six weeks early) – in
three targeted intervention sites in Kentucky: King’s
Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, Trover Health
System Regional Medical Center of Hopkins County and
the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital
in Lexington. Health care teams at each site provide
mothers-to-be with an integrated approach of education,
counseling and clinical care.
The effects of prenatal drug exposure on the baby’s
developing brain are often not seen until school age
when the children have difficulty with behavior,
self-control and learning.
Where to get help:
• Community Mental Health Centers: 1-888-729-8028
Help for depression, anger management,
substance abuse and crisis management.
• Smoking Cessation Quit Line: 1-800-784-8669
Trained to work with pregnant smokers
• WIC nutrition program: 1-800-462-6122
For more information, call 1-800-333-8874 or visit
our Web site at ukhealthcare.uky.edu/obgyn or the
following sites:
www.prematurityprevention.org
www.marchofdimes.org
www.nacersano.org
UK HealthCare is UK Chandler Hospital; Kentucky Children’s Hospital; UK Good Samaritan Hospital;
Markey Cancer Center; Gill Heart Institute; Kentucky Neuroscience Institute; and the clinical activities
of the UK Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, Public Health and Nursing.