Pregnant Or Nursing - Drugs And Alcohol?

[melissa569]

Ok...   I'm asking this both about pregnant moms and nursing moms, because I often hear drug-using or drinking mom's dismiss their behavior by saying the substance is "filtered out" by either the placenta, or the mammary glands

Comments

[so_there]

fetal alcohol syndrome and crack babies are real things. someone needs to do some research.

I once read a lengthy adoption story where a mom had to give up her (adopted) daughter at around 9 years old or so, because even though she was adopted at birth and appeared to be healthy, her bio mom's drug habits affected her mentally and she was extremely abusive towards her adoptive family. she ended up having to live in a treatment center several states away.

i don't know as much about BFing and drugs but I'm pretty sure it doesn't just filter it out.

[blessedrelease]

Not only can a "crack baby" have mental issues, they can have development issues that come up later in life as well. My family did foster care for 20 years and mostly did under twos. We've ended up adopting several of them. While some of them turn out relatively happy and healthy, they all have some sort of issues that require special care. And you can guarantee they weren't going to get that special care from a mother that put them into that situation in the first place. Drugs and alcohol are so incredibly bad for a developing baby, both in and out of the womb.

The situation you're describing breaks my heart, that woman has no business having a baby in her arms.

[mela_chan]

Absolute BS that they get filtered by the breasts or the placenta. Study after study after study has shown that drugs and alcohol of all types get passed to the baby through the placenta (hence Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) and breastmilk (hence being able to buy a kit to test for the presence of alcohol in BM). One study has shown that one major drug (LSD, maybe?) can actually affect a man's sperm and hence his children. I don't usually say this, but if you know this woman's full name, I'd call child protective services. The mom admitted to being under the influence of drugs and alcohol while caring for her child, which is dangerous, and while nursing the child, which is abusive.

[kelj99]

I am not a CPS person at all but this is concerning to me too.

I would seriously consider some sort of intervention.

[x_cybergoth_x]

Here is some good information from someone pro BF, but with the science credentials to know what they are talking about.

Alcohol

She doesn't discuss recreational drugs in any of her posts that I have found, but she is a good and credible source of information and I find her blog posts brilliant.

[kelj99]

Drugs and alcohol can absolutely be present in breastmilk, though at a similar percentage to what would be found in your bloodstream, so baby is getting a tiny fraction of what mom is taking.

That said, an infant's body cannot process alcohol and other drugs like adults do. A much smaller amount can have a greater impact.

There is no level of alcohol in breastmilk which is known to be "safe", though a drink between feedings is likely just fine. I would use similar caution with marijuana use.

I have no clue about shrooms. I don't know if there have every been any studies at all on its presence in breastmilk or effect on an infant.

And who knows the impact of multiple drugs at the same time. :/ Definitely not "safe" in my book and I would be concerned about this baby's short term and long term health.

That said, I wouldn't automatically tie the baby's fussiness to mom's drug use. Babies cry and scream at that age.

[mercurialness]

The simple answer is no, and your friend is a negligent parent. The placenta is designed to filter the mother's blood for the nutrients the fetus needs to ensure that the fetus gets what it needs at the expense of the mother but it is not some magical filter that keeps everything else. Anything in the mother's bloodstream will reach the baby. If you smoke cigarettes, nicotine reaches the fetus. There are myriad scientific studies that prove a direct correlation between smoking and low birth weight for that very reason. We wouldn't have category x drugs in pregnancy if the placenta worked like that.

The same goes for breastfeeding. It actually has a different taste depending on what the mother has eaten because it is directly affected by everything ingests. That's why they tell you to "pump and dump" if you've been drinking and why a nursing mama can't pick her Starbucks habit right back up--caffeine is transmitted to the baby via breastmilk.

Your friend is jeopardizing the health of her baby through ignorance.

[krysty]

Hi, I just wanted to let you know that pumping and dumping is actually outdated advice as the body will clear alcohol out of breast milk at the same rate that it is cleared from our bloodstream. :-) Caffeine depends on the mom and baby. It can definitely have an effect on the baby if an excessive amount in present, but generally speaking most babies (especially older babies) tolerate it in small to moderate amounts just fine.

[mercurialness]

I did drink small amounts of caffeine while nursing when he got older but nowhere near my normal amount which can be multiple venti mochas depending on the day. ;) My son had terrible reflux pretty much since birth and I remember that being the first thing that advised me to cut out of my diet.

[krysty]

Oh, reflux! I was lucky that my babe never had any issues beyond typical spitting up, but I've worked with mamas who are trying to navigate that tricky beast. So much respect for your journey and perspective. I just wanted to make sure that it was clear that what was necessary for you and your baby may not be necessary for other moms and babies. Gotta keep an eye out for those "booby traps" that can unnecessarily prevent a mom (who wants to) from breastfeeding. ;-)