[oceanica]

How bad is it? Anyone with experience?

[blessedbybug]

Originally Posted by oceanica

How bad is it? Anyone with experience?

You'll find many good threads on the Special needs forum for prenatal exposure. They aren't long but there are many who have posted their experiences there.

The bottom line is that your question can't really be answered thoroughly because the extent of the effects prenatal exposure depends on so many factors including amount, timing, other substances used (whether legal or illegal), the metabolism of the mother and baby, prenatal care received and nutrition. And really, in these situations, you may never have the full story of what was used and when.

One things to keep in mind is that in general (but not always) alcohol use may be a part of the equation as well. And alcohol can be the worst.

That said, there are many unknowns anytime you parent, no matter how a child comes to your family. It may not have as much to do with knowing the full effect as being prepared to parent no matter what the effect.

[BethanyB]

I agree that there are many unknowns but my son was exposed to it during the first trimester and he was born totally healthy. He developed pretty much normal but has some speech issues. I would go for it.

[Stormster]

Cocaine is pretty well researched but early first trimester use MAY effect the formation of urinary tract which is one of the first things to form on the fetus.

DS was exposed early on and yeah has two different sized kidneys but who knows if that's what it is from (I feel it probably is though).

Normally one kidney will compensate for the other and other problems (which can be seen in ultrasounds) can be corrected. From what I've read serious problems are not that common though.

In fact, from what I've read cocaine exposed children tend to catch up (may have some behavioral issues during early socialization) but not intelligence deficits or anything like that. And I think the children studied were not kids that were exposed once or twice either so I personally would not be in the least bit discouraged as long as the info is basically correct (meaning amount and type of exposure). Good luck!

[BethanyB]

My son actually has a high IQ. Remember that many children whose parents had healthy pregnancies have things such as ADHD, speech and language development problems as well as behavioral and learning disabilities. So many possible effects that drug exposed children could have, children who were not drug exposed can have as well.

[Linny]

I'll second the comment that many of these kids 'catch-up' in the first year or so; AND, even if there are problems in terms of LD or some such other, certainly alcohol IS the worst to consider (and even that can have different effects on each baby).
Further, it's thought too, that those who are already aware their baby is exposed, often get that child to intervention services early and so----attack any future problems head-on---which in turn, helps immensely.
It's also not uncommon for these babies to have above average intelligence....which seems strange, I know.......but given the parents are already ready and pro-active, IMO, makes a lot of difference for them.

You may have some tremoring/stiffness....which won't always go along with any true withdrawal...which isn't uncommon....but here again, I can't encourage Early Intervention enough!
EI is free for anyone who's insurance won't cover...and it'll probably be the best start you can give your baby in this kind of situation.
(Yeah, that's kind of a lecture I suppose....but truly, it's been more than a blessing for us. )

Sincerely,

Linny

[inhiswill]

I think everyone has given good responses. All I will add is that we were open to cocaine use in the first trimester. For us it was a matter of exposure vs addiction. Hope this helps......

[sheababy]

Our daughter was exposed almost the entire pregnancy and born cocaine positive. She has had no problems and has hit all her milestones early. She is a great sleeper (4-5 hours at a time at birth). The nurses caring for her in her first days said unless they saw the test results, they never would have guessed she had ever been exposed. Of course there are a lot of other factors-every situation is different but I say go for it!

[mom2nathan]

Our son is now 3 1/2 months old. He was exposed in utero to cocaine and nicotine. The birthmother used cocaine daily for first several months of pregnancy and then relapsed a few times later in the pregnancy. He is perfectly healthy so far. He didn't exhibit any signs/symptoms of cocaine or nicotine withdrawal after birth. We were prepared for the worse, but were very lucky.