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Alcohol and Marijuana
For more than 30 years, it has been known that
extremely heavy drinking leads to foetal alcohol syndrome, a group
of congenital problems that can include brain damage, mental
retardation, hyperactivity, low birth weight and slow growth. But
what about moderate drinking (1-2 drinks per day) when you're
pregnant? And what about moderate use of marijuana? Doctors today
say pregnant women should avoid both.
A new study outlined in the journal Child Development provided
startling proof that women who have only one or two alcoholic
drinks per day during pregnancy could be endangering their babies'
neurological development. That study focused on rhesus monkeys
rather than human subjects, but the lead researcher said the
primates react to alcohol much as humans do, and share 90% of the
genetic code that determines the structure of infants' brains.
Other research has found that women may also put their babies at
even greater risk by engaging in occasional binge drinking than if
they consumed a little alcohol each day.
Research also indicates that marijuana and pregnancy are an
unhealthy mix. It is believed that women who smoke marijuana during
pregnancy have higher miscarriage rates and increased problems with
labour and delivery, and give birth to babies with impaired immune
cell factors, which could later lead to higher rates of childhood
cancers. Doctors say the best advice for women who smoke marijuana
is to simply stop – ideally before they begin to attempt to
conceive.
Doctors say it's difficult to overstate the effects of heavy
alcohol and drug use on unborn children, since the results can be
so profound and reach far into a child's future. They say the best
time to begin protecting your child is now. Women with questions
about how their lifestyle choices might affect their children
should talk openly with their doctors.
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