Our dd was exposed to both in utero, and was full term (41 weeks) at 7 pounds, 3 ounces.  She is 2 1/2, and very healthy, normal in every way.  I will state that dd was very fussy during the first few days of life.  I attribute that to a nicotine fit, but it was very short in duration…just gave me a reason to snuggle with her more….   In the grand scheme of things, I personally believe that these are mInor concerns, but maybe that is because my own mother smoked while pregnant with my sister and I, and we were perfectly healthy as well.

Both our kid’s birthmothers smoked cigarettes throughout their entire pregnancies.  Besides slightly low birthweight (6lbs.12oz. and 6lbs.7oz.) we’ve never seen any side effects.  They are both 75th percentile or higher for height and weight for their ages. (8 and 13)  Neither kid has ADHD or any other behavioral or developmental issues.

We know our 8 year old’s birthmother smoked pot for part of the pregnancy, but honestly couldn’t say it has had any effect.  She does very well in school and seems very well adjusted.

I read that prenatal exposure to marijuana may have neurobehavioral outcomes, may impair vision and hearing and may harm the baby’s brain.

Some effects of cigarette smoking on a fetus were:  reduced birth weight of infant, bronchitis, asthma, SIDS, colic, respiratory infections, increase in heart beat, increase in red blood cells and baby could die, limits in baby’s supply of oxygen, reduction of fetal breathing movements to name a few.

One article did say that some of these effects worked themselves out within 6 months.

I would do some reading and research and present your findings to EM if possible.  She needs to be encouraged to drop both of these habits while PG.

Suerte! (good luck).

Our son was exposed to those in utero and he is a healthy, pleasant 7 year old now.  It was difficult for me because during my pregnancies, I was so careful not to do anything that could be harmful to the baby.  Giving up that control was not easy, but it turned out to be fine for our family.  Our son is amazing!

our oldest’s BM smoked 2 packs/day.  he went through extreme withdrawal after birth (he was also in the NICU for non-withdrawal reasons.)  it was bad enough that the drs and nurses told us his BM used drugs (all tox screens came back clean.  she didn’t lie to us.)  he was probably also crabby because he wasnt’ allowed to eat, was hooked up to tubes and needles, etc.

we went home on DOL 5.  no need to head back to the hospital like the neonatologist was concerned about.

oh, and he was the giant of the NICU at over 8lbs!!

he is now nearly 5 and pretty much like everyone other kid in his class (except much more handsome.)

(FWIW, his BM is trying very hard to quit smoking now, and i’m very proud of her - and encouraging her to keep at it!)

Our son’s BM smoked cigarettes during her pregnancy. She tried to quit throughout, but did not have much success. At times she had cut back dramatically, but then she would go back to 2 packs a day. The stress of the impending adoption would get to her. She also smoked a little pot before she knew she was pregnant. She stopped as soon as she found out.
Our son was slightly small at 6lb 2oz and had some trouble with reflux as a baby. He ended up with special formula and on medicine, but now at 28 months, he is very healthy except for some seasonal allergies. He is very smart and very clever! He is also tall for his age.

Both my sons’ birth mom smoked cigarettes and marijuana throughout each pregnancy (same birth mom for both boys).  I read a lot about the effects which are difficult to nail down simply because most babies born with exposure to those drugs continue to have exposure after birth through breast milk or second hand smoke since they are raised by their birth mom and not placed or adoption.  Once consequence does seem to be low birth weight due to a deprivation of oxygen during development.  Low birth weight can have other consequences but a healthy diet and environment after birth can at least partially make up for those.  It’s difficult to find studies on babies with exposure to illicit drugs in utero who have no exposure afterwards since that mostly applies to babies placed for adoption or those rare cases where the birth parent manages to stop doing drugs and smoking.  So it’s hard to know what long term effects are due to exposure after birth versus in utero exposure.

That being said, both of my boys were born early but probably due to another illicit drug their birth mother routinely used and not to nicotine or marijuana.  Both spent time in the NICU because of their pre-term birth.  But since then, both are healthy, happy, socially interactive, bright boys who are taller than average and meeting all their developmental goals.  I do believe that much of the drawbacks to low birth weight can be made up for by a warm, nurturing, and healthy environment in an adoptive home. 

My philosophy is that even with a perfect pregnancy, a child can develop learning disabilities, ADHD or a host of other issues.  And as a mother, if something like that crops up, our family will deal with them just as we would if I had given birth to my sons after following all medical advice for a healthy pregnancy.  It’s really no different.  I understand your worries.  I had them too.  But being a parent means being prepared to help your child overcome obstacles and help them to reach their full potential.  While there are other drugs (particularly alcohol) that can have very negative effects on a developing fetus, cigarettes and marijuana are not known to have those major impacts.

Congratulations on the impending birth of your baby.  Try not to worry too much about the drug use.

While we know so much more now about negative effects of all sorts of toxins during pregnancy, keep in mind that most of the baby boomer generation was born to women who smoked during pregnancy—at the time it was believed that a “barrier” kept it from affecting babies. That of course was not true, but most of the babies born then went on to lead normal, healthy lives (albeit might have been “fussy” or “collicky” as infants, and not nearly as responsive early on as today’s babies, but they did catch up.