Marijuana and pregnancy-effects on fetus?

[Jaysienna Laelyne]

good morning ladies. i currently have my 2 younger boys in a daycare center. i have been bringing al my kids there for 4 years. i am very close to some of the caregivers/teachers in there. we talk about everything. well, about 4 weeks ago there was a teacher, who had a baby girl. she has been on maternity leave and i happened to ask one of the other teachers how she was doing. they told me fine and that was that. a few minutes later we got on the subject of marijuana. in the conversation one of the ladies who is close to this particular teacher who just gave birth, said that she smoked marijuana each day thru out her pregnancy! i was astonished! her baby was a healthy 9 lb. baby girl with not one problem/defect! do you all think that side affects of in-utero exposure to pot will have long term affects? all these teachers think that her pot usage was ok during this delicate time. what is wrong with these people!? i am no angel, i am 11 weeks, 2 days and i smoke cigaretes, not too heavy-but i would never smoke pot with a baby in my belly. anyways, i would just like to know if anyone has any experience in this field of drug usage.





sienna

[gonza]

I too would question the caregivers for thinking this was OK.  You say that they said she smoked pot everyday during her pregancy?  Well, if she is working at the daycare would she not have also been smoking pot everyday that she was at work caring for other's children?  That is what I would question.  The well being of your children and others is in their hands.  I personally would look elsewhere for childcare.

[waterskigirl]

My fear is that this woman might have been watching your children while she was high!  Not to mention she is caring for a baby while she is high!  I think the authorities need to be called in on this case, she is endagenring that child,  she should also be fired from your day care.  I would seriously look into another day care because they obvioulsy don't have any kind of anti-drug policy.



As the the affects on the child, I think they may be more long term and developemental.  Marijuana fries adult braincells, what do you think it will do to an infant?  Great that's all we need is more stoner's walking around....at least Mcdonald's is always hiring.

[fearfactor]

I'm not against marijuana but I feel that, like alcohol, it should be avoided during pregnancy.  It's probably best to avoid all substances while pregnant just to be on the safe side.  It is also not good to smoke around babies or kids, regular cigarettes or marijuana.  My mom smoked around me when I was growing up and I had chronic bronchitis all the time as a kid.  As far as smoking cigarettes while pregnant, my aunt did it and her baby was low birth weight.  It can be harmful so you may want to consider quitting - I know it is hard to do but you might want to try!

[fearfactor]

Oh and...I would take my kid(s) out of that daycare, too.  I wouldn't risk some caregiver being high while watching my kid.

[mejoje]

I too am astonished that women do this. I do not have a clue if there any side effects of the drug to a fetus, but I have a similar story. A friend of mine was a habitual pot smoker...when she was 14 or 16 years old her and three friends were in a car accident and she was the only one to survive (with a lot of physical problems)but she witnessed 2 of the people 1 with the steering wheel through his forhead and the driver had the steering column thru his neck, WOW. Her friend she saw in the hospital who was in real bad shape and died a few days later. Not that this is a reason to do it but she was through something that I can't even begin to imagine. ANYWAY, was found out she was pg and I had asked her if she was going to give it up (the weed) but SHE said that she researched it and that smoking weed was the same to a fetus as was smoking cigerettes. Like I said I am not sure if this is true or not but she smoked heavily and both of her two babies were big and healthy.

[greenpixie]

I'm not sure what the effects are, but there's no way this could be good for the baby.  Whether the baby appears to be healthy or not, why would you even risk it?  Ironically, I'm not really against marijuana, but I would NEVER condone it's useage for anyone who was TTC or pregnant. My bigger question is this: Why on earth are your childrens' teachers discussing this with you?  I have been a preschool teacher for 10 years.  I have grown very close to some of my parents but I wouldn't dream of talking about marijuana with them. That really crosses a professional boundary.  Not to mention, childcare providers should hold the safety of children in highest regard.  To think that it's ok to use drugs during pregnancy is beyond ridiculous.  I would really question how much they really care about kids.  I'm glad you're satisified with the care that you've gotten so far, but if it were me, that would be enough to send me searching for another childcare program.

[waterskigirl]

I think kids that grow up around Cigarrette smoke are more prone to allergies and asthma.  Cigarrtte smoking while pregnant will cause low birth weight.

[tryingagain]

I think ANYTHING you put into your body affects the baby one way or another.  Try this: if past 16 weeks, try drinking orange juice.  You will feel your baby move like you just gave him a shot of adrenaline... It is the sugar.  That shows how quickly anything we intake makes it to the baby.  As for drugs, alcohol and nicotine, I think anyone doing any of these is not only reckless but selfish.  My sister-in-law (a nurse) smoked throughout her pregnancy.  Her daughther has all kinds of respiratory problems.  She is 15 months old and has been sick countless times.  

As for the day care facility: I would make sure the management is aware of this teacher's pot use.  The other teachers may not think it is a big deal, and maybe it is not a big deal to you either, but I bet it is for other parents who take their little ones there.  If that were me I would take my child out of there, I would make sure management knows and I would also make sure this person is fired from that position.  

Children come first.

[mgi]

It is way too early to know the effects

the marijuana certainly COULD have negative effects

But I agree with other posters - how in the world ddoes she still have a job there??  I would not want even a smoker watching my kids!

[SUMMEROFDESTINY]

I just wanted to add to this,I know someone whom smoked all marijuana throughout her whole pregnancy as well, and has a healthy daughter,,,,with so far no symptoms,,,as for her first daughter she has ashma ...she also smoked cigarettes,,,It's funny cause I remember her telling me when she was pregnant that her doctor told her to ease off cause if she just quit that it wouldn't be good for the baby...does anyone know if that is true?

I used to say to her over and over again,,,but what can you do..you don't live there, and you can only tell people so many times and they are going to do what they want in the end anyways,,,I personally don't think that she did slow down,,,not for sure but the way she has that stuff in her life, I don't know if she could go a day without it>>

It's really hard to see stuff like this,,,when there are people like myself who do anything and everything to be healthy and are trying to conceive...and it not happening>>Not that I've never smoked before, cause I used to,,,

[Jaysienna Laelyne]

thanks for all the input and ideas. these teachers that i was talking to about this are all high-schoolers and work at the daycare afer-school, part time. that is why they are so uncuth i believe. they do not know better, they are young. as far as the pot-smoking momma/daycare teacher, she's 25 and already has another daughter as well. i don't think that it's my place to rat her out. i do not want any retalliation. she will get what is coming to her.





sienna

[stardust623]

Whose to say this woman smokes pot during the day? Some people use pot like others drink glasses of wine in the evening. Many women still swear it is allright to have a glass of wine while pregnant. My friend insists women who smoke pot during there pregnancy have less colicky babies. I certainly don't think its okay to smoke pot everyday while pregnant or drink wine for that matter. But, there are many cases of people using these things while pregnant out there. The results are not always horrific. It's easy to sit back and judge but there are many different lifestyles and just because you don't ascribe to one doesn't mean it is totally wrong. Who are we to judge. This is still a free country.

[jluhart]

Question: Is it safe to smoke marijuana during pregnancy?



Answer: No. Smoking marijuana during pregnancy may affect your baby's growth and nervous system. Studies have shown that children who were exposed to marijuana during pregnancy sometimes have problems focusing their attention and difficulty in problem-solving. Children of heavy pot users may have disturbances in their short-term memory, concentration, and judgment. (There's no evidence so far, however, that marijuana use during pregnancy causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder