Addiction and Pregnancy

A mother taking illegal drugs during pregnancy increases her risk for anemia, blood and heart infections, skin infections, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases. She also is at greater risk for sexually transmitted diseases. Heroin, cocaine, and other addictive drugs are not necessarily deforming substances, but use can cause withdrawal in the newborn as well as growth retardation in the unborn baby. Alcohol abuse can cause what's called Fetal-Alcohol Syndrome, associated with deformed teeth and facial features and mental retardation. Marijuana, like cigarettes, has many chemicals in it besides THC. If you get stoned, your baby gets stoned--all at a time when neural cells are busy developing so that they can handle all of the neurotransmitters used in proper central nervous system functioning.

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Addiction and Pregnancy News Articles

• It’s Twice as Strong Today…

  Even if you experimented with pot when you were younger, there’s nothing hypocritical about trying to keep your kids off of it now. Reliable and consistent evidence indicates today’s marijuana is more than twice as powerful on average than it was twenty years ago. With twice the concentration of THC, marijuana is now capable of causing double the damage. Read Full Article »

• The Link Between PTSD and Substance Abuse

  Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can develop in some people after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. An emerging body of research has documented a very strong association between PTSD and substance abuse. Read Full Article »

• If an alcoholic is unwilling to get help, what can you do about it?

  An alcoholic can't be forced to get help except under certain circumstances, such as a violent incident that results in court-ordered treatment or a medical emergency. But you don't have to wait for someone to "hit rock bottom" to act. Therapists especially skilled in alcoholism treatment have a series of steps they suggest to encourage an alcoholic get help. Read Full Article »

• Women Often Experience Drug Abuse and Addiction Quite Differently Than Men

  The developmental stages of drug involvement and addiction are not necessarily identical for men and women. The path to drug abuse can be more rapid and complex for women and typically includes a pattern of breakdowns in individual, familial, and environmental protective factors and an increase in childhood fears, anxieties, phobias, and failed relationships. Read Full Article »

• The Dark Side of Prescription Drugs

  By Patti Geier, LCSW
  
  Prescription drug addiction usually begins by genuinely needing the drug that's been prescribed for medical reasons...but somewhere along the line it progressively turns to the regular use/abuse of the medication in an attempt to satisfy emotional and psychological needs. Read Full Article »

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