Smoking marijuana while pregnant

[BIGGDOG]

Great post "ImTyping"

 

[Sketcher]

My Wife is a Pediatric RN at Minneapolis' Children's Hospital,

She see's the direct result of drug use during pregnancy nearly every day. It is not just a debate of whether or not someone has a right to do what they want with their own body be it legal or illegal. It is an incomprehensible and tragic result of an individuals selfishness to think that their actions do not have consequence. It is not just their own body that is damaged. The life of the child is affected even more than the life of the mothers. It is not the Mother who lives out the life of that child.

9-months is a short time to abstain from selfish pursuits for the better consideration of a child. Too often does my wife come home from work, exhausted and saddened by treating children who are born with bodies already addicted to drugs. Too often does she tell me of parents who thought it was their right to drink and smoke during pregnancy - and now do not know how to care for a special needs baby.

Come on people, quit arguing about the ethics or moral conviction of this issue. It's not worth a small amount of pleasure to create a life time worth of harship. Especially when the life is not your own.

 

[ravanux]

I think its cool as long as she doesn't mind giving birth to a child with hardcore munchies!

 

[Phuz]

<< No, you're missing the point. Seeing, driving cars aren't illegal. Smoking marijuana is. And smoking marijuana not only ruins your life, it ruins everyone else's environment. >>





<< Smoking is bad in general. Call the cops on her, she'll get thrown in jail for possesion of an illegal substance. No more smoking for her and maybe the baby would go to a better person, a better family. And after the woman gives birth to the baby, get her in HEAVY rehab. Or better yet, just leave her be, she'll be out on the street in no time.. >>



This is the kind of trife people NEED NOT READ. There should be an age ban on threads like this for children who obviously don't have the capacity to understand said situation, and have no valid or contributing comments to make.
What a load (large load) of crap.

As for the pregnancy, explain to her how unfair it is to her child. Shes not giving him to chance to evolve and become a fully rounded child. Not to say he won't turn out fine, but obviously the odds are against him. Anyone who inhales any form of smoke during pregnancy will harm their child.

 

[mdennison]

I would not want my kid to be exposed to weed when in the womb, however lots of girls smoke the whole way through and their kids are fine.

 

[StageLeft]

Your friend is irresponsible and grossly unfit for motherhood. It's that simple. She might as well go on a drinking binge every night and do the kid in properly.

 

[Jzero]

<< I am waiting for someone to say that since she will be using OUR tax money to have the baby, then we have a right to control how she conducts her pregnancy.

Please, someone jump down that slippery slope! Please! >>


I'll jump down that slope. This isn't a "rights" issue for anyone. In order to have a child you should first be able to support that child. If you are unwilling to care for your child at all, what right do you have to bear a child at all, then? What good is reproduction if your useless spawn will die within a year because you bought pot instead of food....unless the gov't bails your butt out?

Can you honestly say you don't mind having to foot the bill for immature, selfish fools like the girl who is the subject of this discussion? You don't mind paying for jackasses who make a living by just having more children and collecting bigger welfare checks, while the rest of us get real jobs and work hard to support our families instead of leaching off of the government? I don't mind helping people that really need it, but she can afford to buy weed despite being an unemployed moron, yet she's not going to have enough money to feed her own child? So she gets to take your money so that way she can smoke AND feed her mindless brat of a child? Well, it's your money, I guess.

 

[Fastball]

<< Your friend is irresponsible and grossly unfit for motherhood. It's that simple. >>



I agree 100%.

 

[ImTyping]

<< I'll jump down that slope. This isn't a "rights" issue for anyone. In order to have a child you should first be able to support that child. If you are unwilling to care for your child at all, what right do you have to bear a child at all, then? What good is reproduction if your useless spawn will die within a year because you bought pot instead of food....unless the gov't bails your butt out? >>



There is a country where the government regulates the birth process. It is called China.

Now, we could have Bush and his disciples set down the guidelines on who can and who cannot have kids. For a starting point, let's say you have to be making $100,000+ per year in order to properly care for a child. If you are not making that much money, you should be forced to take birth control pills.

Sound good to you?

 

[Ranger X]

First 3 months of her pregnancy is the most crucial moments. If she smokes, the baby could very well have birth defects. Tell her to expect it coming.

 

[Talon]

I agree that people should not have children until they are mature enough and can afford to do so, but income alone is no guarantee of parental responsibility. There are just as many bad wealthy parents as there are lower income parents and substance abuse is certainly not limited to the lower income and education levels.

 

[jobberd]

<< No, you're missing the point. Seeing, driving cars aren't illegal. Smoking marijuana is. And smoking marijuana not only ruins your life, it ruins everyone else's environment.
-- mrcodedude >>

But thats the only difference, isn't it? The only thing that makes marijiuana worse then things like cigarretes are the fact that they're illegal. Marijuana CAN ruin your life, yes. Gambling can ruin your life as well. Same goes for video games, eating, etc. etc. And I can't see how marijuana ruins everyone else's environment. You can't smoke it in public, and the ones that are around you while you do it have the choice to leave. But Im going to drop the subject since you edited your initial post. I apologize for calling you dumb

 

[Beau]

<< Her argument is that the majority of the young women during the '70's smoked pot while pregnant and most of those kids turned out okay. >>

My fiance is one of those kids. She is actually smarter than most other people I know (graduated from high school salutatorian, on track for high honors for her masters). Don't know though, my opinion on this is mixed.

 

[hoihtah]

Smoking marijuana while pregnant...
just dumb

and i wouldn't expect anything better than a dumb child out of that lady... at best.

 

[wsking77]

dude...call the cops, have them follow her get the dealer(unless she is) and throw her into drug treatment program, its the best way to quit

 

[littlelilith]

Is she seeing a doctor and getting checkups? If she isn't, try to get her to see one [for the sake of the baby - make sure it's developing ok, etc]. If she is, she should talk to him/her about it.. they can't force her to quit, but they can give her some info, and they'll at least have a heads-up on any complications that could come rather than being unprepared for them.

On the other hand, if you want to get some info yourself in order to talk to her, your best resource would be to call a doctor and discuss the situation yourself.

From this site:
"Try to reduce your use. Any reduction to the amount you smoke will lessen the effects on the baby. The earlier in the pregnancy that you stop or reduce your use the better for the baby.

Always inform your doctor or midwife if you use a drug so they can properly check the baby's health."

 

[Fastball]

<< Sound good to you? >>



yes, actually it does.

 

[lawaris]

<< Not really. Smoking pretty much consumes her life. She can't hold a job or do anything else productive due to her habit. >>



I would just say....she is lonely and deeply hurt somewhere ....
This habit ....she thinks.....gives her an escape...

Maybe you should be with her more and try to make her see the good things in life...I wish all the best to you in your endeavour.

If u want I can talk to her or she can call me .........I have been through this and much more in my short life of 25 yrs.

 

[JoeBaD]

ImTyping,

you changed your punctuation but you remain an arsehole.

 

[Harvey]

ImTyping -- << Otherwise, stop trying to be a busybody and STFU. >>

I wish I could post negative numbers for your rating. Let me put it in bold letters for you.

The fact that you MAY or MAY NOT be able to change someone's attitude or behavior is not a reason not to try. Furthermore, flaming someone who is obviously well motivated for TRYING to do so makes you look like a TOTAL SHMUCK! :|

 

[Optimus]

Im Typing:

There is a massive difference between "forcing" people to be smart, sane, and reasonable - and simply trying to help by providing information to those who are ignorant on an important topic.

This lady is ignorant of the implications of her actions - and willfully ignorant. The poster of this thread cannot force her to do anything and isn't trying to - he is simply asking us to help gather information that he can hand to her.

If she throws that info away and ignores it, then he has nothing left to do, sadly.

Giving people information, and allowing them to decide whether to read it, use it, believe it, etc is NOT forcing them to do anything. You can extend the piece of paper, and they can simply not take it, or throw it away...

No one is forced to do anything.

 

[wildwildwes]

<<
The fact that you MAY or MAY NOT be able to change someone's attitude or behavior is not a reason not to try. Furthermore, flaming someone who is obviously well motivated for TRYING to do so makes you look like a TOTAL SHMUCK! :| >>



Yep.

 

[Mikelh]

Report her to the authorities. That is, if you're sincerely interested in her welfare and recovery. At this point in her addiction, she needs professional help, not this forum!

Michael

 

[gopunk]

There is a country where the government regulates the birth process. It is called China.

there was once a country that produced cheap cars so that every family within the country could afford one. it was called nazi germany.

i love it when people just throw out a word to play on people's emotions.

Now, we could have Bush and his disciples set down the guidelines on who can and who cannot have kids. For a starting point, let's say you have to be making $100,000+ per year in order to properly care for a child. If you are not making that much money, you should be forced to take birth control pills.
Sound good to you?

lol, do you think we're stupid? you're basically creating your own little nightmare and then telling us that's what's going to happen if we don't let drug addicts raise kids. nobody ever said anything about money, or bush, or whatever. all i'm saying is that drug addicts shouldn't be raising children, and pregant mothers shouldn't be smoking pot. if you have a problem with that, address that issue, instead of making up some weird fantasy that has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

 

[Vikaden]

18) Don't children born to pot-smoking mothers suffer from ``Fetal Marijuana Syndrome?''

If a fetal cannabis syndrome exists, cases are so rare that it cannot be demonstrated. Many mothers use marijuana during pregnancy -- it controls the nausea called `morning sickness' and many say it actually increases the appetite and reduces stress. This is especially important in less developed countries, where modern medical care is not as easily available, but even so, the benefits of responsible marijuana use may outweigh the risks even under modern medicine.
Studies conducted in Jamaca have shown that mothers who smoke marijuana have healthier children, but this may be due to the extra income generated by marijuana dealing and other factors. It has been a common ploy in the War on Drugs to claim that marijuana, and especially cocaine, causes birth defects or behavior problems like alcohol does. This scares caring mothers into thinking drugs are `evil.' The claims are not based on valid scientific research -- many of them do not even consider the life-style or living conditions of the mothers before pointing at drugs with the blame.

Obviously, pregnant mothers should not smoke as much pot as they possibly can. If marijuana is abused, it may hurt the health of both mother and child. Delta-9-THC does cross the placenta and enter the fetus. Oddly, though, the marijuana metabolite, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-THC does not, and the fetus does not break delta-9-THC down into 11-nor like the mother's body does, so unborn children are not exposed to 11-nor. The third trimester is the time when the child is most vulnerable. Parents should bear these facts in mind when they make decisions about using cannabis.


Taken from:Erowid