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F A C T K S H E E T e n t u c k y ’ s H e a l t h I n f o r m a t i o n R e s o u r c e 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.