Other Drugs

Everything a pregnant woman eats, drinks, smokes or takes affects the unborn baby. To give a child the best possible start, a pregnant woman should eat a nutritious diet including a daily multivitamin with folic acid, get plenty of rest, have regular prenatal checkups, and not use any drugs unless recommended by a doctor who knows she is pregnant.

• Drug use can affect the baby before, during and after pregnancy.
  
  
• Birth control pills should be discontinued at least three months before conception so the body can resume normal functioning.
  
  
• During pregnancy, drugs reach the unborn baby and affect the developing cells. An unborn baby is nourished through the mother's placenta. For example, when the mother drinks, alcohol passes freely from her through the placenta to the unborn baby. Both alcohol and its major breakdown product, acetaldehyde, cross the placenta and can damage the developing baby.
  
  
• Research is ongoing, but it is known that drugs may be passed through breast milk and affect the baby in different ways. Less milk may be produced, so breastfeeding may be difficult. Taste may be altered; baby can be irritable and drowsy. Alcohol passes into the baby's body and developing brain, affecting growth and development. More research is needed.

For more information, contact the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute or refer to the Resource Catalogue for resources and videos.