Marajuana VS Alcohol.. which is worse?

[HotI]

there is a PDF brochure you can dowload on pregnancy and cannabis from the women's alcohol and drug service. (i googled "baby withdrawal marijuana" and it was the first link)

I think you also have to concerns for when the baby is born. If Mum is unable or unwilling to stop drinking and smoking during pregnancy, she most likely will continue after the baby is born. Babies near a carer who is unaffected by drugs or alcohol and sounds like Mum might not be willing to do that. Is there another carer who will be able to step in when Mum is taking her time?

[sneakysparkle]

I think you also have to concerns for when the baby is born. If Mum is unable or unwilling to stop drinking and smoking during pregnancy, she most likely will continue after the baby is born. Babies near a carer who is unaffected by drugs or alcohol and sounds like Mum might not be willing to do that. Is there another carer who will be able to step in when Mum is taking her time?

:yeahthat:

[Jennifer13]

Doesn't sound like a very nice choice - would she prefer the child to be born with fetal alcohol syndrome or addicted to marijuana with probable lifelong health and developmental consequences?

[Mumma2three]

Id' say both only because they're both bad. Marijuana might not have any effects that they've noted, but the fact that it is so detremental to the smokers health (mainly because where and how it's processed these days means there's LOTS of crap in it) would make me worry. I know someone who has had severe mental problems because of pot and pot alone. Scary stuff. Alcohol would be ok in small amounts (JMO) but definitely not binge drinking often or anything like that.
xo

[alioops]

I would say Marajuana because of the number of variables and due to the fact that it is illegal, there is less research on it. Alcohol - while it is bad - is subject to regualtions, and is less likely to have as many variables. It has also had countless studies. Even though there are so many studies, they still havent figured out how much is safe, so none is best JIC.

I would have to agree with BG in that it depends on the level of addiction to each.

I do hope that she does realise that she is not only impacting her own life but her baby's too and can get rid of both addictions. All you can do though is try to keep baby's interests at heart and do what you can to give them the best chance in life.

[smiles4u]

Whilst i get myself off the floor ... the thought of any Mother doing 'that' to their unborn child just makes me feel so sick & disheartened

I couldn't bring myself to choice either one in an answer so i will just simply say " Neither " (Sorry not much help here)

[tattoo_mama]

hmmmm thats a tough one
depends on the amount drunk/smoked
i did both before i got pg, drinking was easy to stop as it was a social thing, pot was harder and i cut down to a couple cones a week in early pg and cut it out alltogether after a couple months, it freaked me out too much thinking what it was doin to my bubs (and that was prob the worst time to be smoking cause the first 12 weeks is all thier development etc)
but i was a big time smoker and i managed to stop altogether, of course i get jealous seeing DP have them but i just think about the life growing inside of me and want to give her the best start possible...

i may be biased but id have to say feotal alcohol syndrome is alot worse, ive known people to smoke throughout thier pgs and thier kids are fine, not to say its good or anything, but as another BB member said smoking pot has similar effects to pg women smoking cigarettes eg low birth weight etc, but u have to worry about withdrawls, would she really want to put her newborn thru that sort of pain?? and i saw on the news recently that something like 1/3 of women who smoke cigarettes continue during pregnancy!! eeep

[Just Me]

I agree with BG ... it depends one the level of addiction. Marijuana can have really adverse affects on some people and a single use can cause schitozophrenia, bi-polar, severe memory loss. So I can't imagine the affect that it would have on a baby if these are the affects on some adults (not everyone is affected the same way but people prone to these sorts of mental illness are affected badly). Memory loss happens to almost everyone to some degree in long term use of marijuana.

Aside from the physiological affects on the baby during pg, there are a lot of other factors after it is born associated with marijuana use (financial, social etc). Alcohol is probably more preferable if I have to chose a preference.

Marijuana is a really hard habbit to break (as is alcohol if it is more than just social drinking). I have family members who use it and it is a lifestyle choice. When my family members started using it we looked at ways to help them get off it and it involves a whole lifestyle change - socialising with different friends, finding new and different interests, just changing so many habbits while adjusting to not having a certain rush running through their bodies.

I think it is an incredibly hard thing to do and while it might sound really horrible that this woman is doing marijuana and drinking while she is pg, my heart really goes out to her. Things like marijuana are so much better left untouched but once people start on a regular basis, it can be a really difficult addiction to break. I agree that she should try to for the sake of her baby, but I can understand how hard it is.

One of my family members who use it has a pg gf and he is trying so desperately hard to give up marijuana before the baby is born. It is so hard for him and everything is a struggle for him at the moment. I am proud of what he is doing though and glad that something was finally motivation enough to stop using.

[~Raven~]

I think I might stick to the "if you can't say anything nice..." philosophy, but I do agree with this:

I think you also have to concerns for when the baby is born. If Mum is unable or unwilling to stop drinking and smoking during pregnancy, she most likely will continue after the baby is born. Babies near a carer who is unaffected by drugs or alcohol and sounds like Mum might not be willing to do that. Is there another carer who will be able to step in when Mum is taking her time?

[Mother Goose]

First I will respond to the original question - it would largely depend on how much of a dependence the mother-to-be had on each substance. Withdrawal can be pretty ***** and can actually be dangerous for both the woman and the unborn child. It would need to be in a very closely monitored situation. However, alcohol is usually the substance most clinics would focus on if she were only to abstain from one - although it would depend on quantity and frequency of use as well.

Secondly;

I think you also have to concerns for when the baby is born. If Mum is unable or unwilling to stop drinking and smoking during pregnancy, she most likely will continue after the baby is born. Babies near a carer who is unaffected by drugs or alcohol and sounds like Mum might not be willing to do that. Is there another carer who will be able to step in when Mum is taking her time?

I just want to say (as a healthcare professional and also as someone who worked in the field of Alcohol and Other Drugs for a long time) that every parent has the right to prove they are a good parent. Just because someone has a substance abuse issue, please do not assume they are bad parents. You do not know the finer details of their habit. It may be that they only use when the children are asleep (and somewhat safer than during the day when they are awake and running around). It may also be that they only use when the children are away. But please, do not brand someone a bad parent simply because of their extra curricular activities - give them a chance to prove themselves first.

MG

[[M]umma[M]ia]

This has been quite interesting to see your opinions. (Minus the stuff i didnt ask for)

She doesnt drink every day. Its more of a social thing, like if we are all sitting around. She will prob have max of 4 cans, let it be jimmy.. crusiers.. etc. Prob 3 times a week (mayb morre, i dont know, i dont live with her lol). The dope, well thats every day. Her partner doesnt help situations as hes a big smoker. This will be their 5th child, 3rd together. anyhooo enough of their life story.

I still think the alcohol would be worse. Fetal alcohol poisening looks really scary. But all i can think of with the choofin is the fact that not as much oxygen would get to the baby ( the same a cigarettes) so would make a low birth weight baby etc. Tho I might have to google abit more. But im still sticking with alcohol being worse than marajuana whilst pregnant. And im not talking about one glass of wine after tea every night.


Keep the "evil mother" bickering away please.

[[M]umma[M]ia]

I just want to say (as a healthcare professional and also as someone who worked in the field of Alcohol and Other Drugs for a long time) that every parent has the right to prove they are a good parent. Just because someone has a substance abuse issue, please do not assume they are bad parents. You do not know the finer details of their habit. It may be that they only use when the children are asleep (and somewhat safer than during the day when they are awake and running around). It may also be that they only use when the children are away. But please, do not brand someone a bad parent simply because of their extra curricular activities - give them a chance to prove themselves first.

MG

well said

[Rouge]

Mothergoose... YOU ROCK Thank you for being the voice of nonjudgmental reason Some amazing people in this world have been substance abusers, and they have gone on to do wonderful things post abuse. Everyone deserves a chance, but often its easier to judge.

[diannescruffy]

Hollye just wondering whether this mum has acknowledged to you that she wants help in giving up marajuana, alcohol or both. Others have turned their lives around, it can be done. You could offer to go with her to her local GP who could refer her to services which could help if she is agreeable.

Regards,
Dianne

[[M]umma[M]ia]

No. not really.

[~Serenity~]

hollye i would say the alcohol would be worse i had a friend that used to spoke all through her pregnancy evry day all day and apart from being a little small and having difficulty learning to suck at the start he seems fine...she has smoked all through all three of her pregancys and they seem developmentally fine...i understand what you are going through it is very hard to talk to them about it and i in the end just didnt bother because i knew it wouldnt be taking in the way intended.......its a hard place to be in and i wish you the best in your decision

[HotI]

Originally Posted by Kate07
I think you also have to concerns for when the baby is born. If Mum is unable or unwilling to stop drinking and smoking during pregnancy, she most likely will continue after the baby is born. Babies need a carer who is unaffected by drugs or alcohol and sounds like Mum might not be willing to do that. Is there another carer who will be able to step in when Mum is taking her time?

Secondly;

I just want to say (as a healthcare professional and also as someone who worked in the field of Alcohol and Other Drugs for a long time) that every parent has the right to prove they are a good parent. Just because someone has a substance abuse issue, please do not assume they are bad parents. You do not know the finer details of their habit. It may be that they only use when the children are asleep (and somewhat safer than during the day when they are awake and running around). It may also be that they only use when the children are away. But please, do not brand someone a bad parent simply because of their extra curricular activities - give them a chance to prove themselves first.
MG

My post did not say anything about being a bad parent, and that was certainly not how i intended it to be interpreted. However, i stand by my statement that if a parent is impaired by alcohol or drugs and unable to care for their child, someone needs to be there for the child, at the times when Mum is unable to provide care. This might be her partner or a friend but the child needs to be cared for.

[Glamourcide]

However, i stand by my statement that if a parent is impaired by alcohol or drugs and unable to care for their child, someone needs to be there for the child, at the times when Mum is unable to provide care.

But, as a former pot-smoker and having lots of friends who *do* continue their habit after becoming parents, I can say that in my personal experience (as in, seeing others, I stopped using before TTC) that marijuana use doesn't necessarily 'impair' a person, or impact negatively on their ability to care for their children. The effect you get from a few bongs is vastly different to what you get after a few drinks, and of course an entirely different story to 'hard' drugs like heroin, speed etc (where yes, a person truly does become impaired).
I suppose what I'm saying is that a parent can smoke a fair bit of pot and not have it affect their parenting ability - if they can function normally in day-to-day life in every other area while they're buzzed, the kids are very unlikely to be at risk of any harm.


Anyway, onto the actual question, which is worse... I personally would say the booze. Obviously it all depends on the frequency and level of consumption, but as the OP said, this particular person may not drink every day, but does drink a relatively large amount on the frequent occasions she *does* drink. Alcohol does some pretty scary things to adults, just think of what that does to a growing foetus. Marijuana though... yes, there are dangers, but they're more akin to those associated with smoking tobacco - lower birth weight, risk of prematurity (which are both also associated with alcohol abuse, and therefore it's neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned), and heightened risk of SIDS (although how much that has to do with a parent smoking *while pregnant*, or smoking around the baby *after it's born*, I don't know).
Personally, I'd be inclined to say that alcohol consumption is worse than smoking the ganga... Obviously they both have their bad points (and, really, no good points), but I'd be inclined to say that a lot of the 'marijuana = worse' feelings come from people just because it's illegal, whereas alcohol isn't, and it's some sacred right in Aussie culture to get blind-drunk at every opportunity. Illegal, schmillegal. If the gov't could tax it the way they do booze and ciggies, they'd have it legalized in a second. If the gov't could live without the revenue from alcohol and tobacco taxes, they'd outlaw them and make them look worse than ice and heroin.
(Whoa, I'm way off-topic here, aren't I?)

If your friend doesn't seem to show much interest in quitting or cutting out one or the other, maybe suggest she cut down on the booze and try bush (although if one is used to hydro - which is actually quite pure, just a lot stronger as the mind-altering chemicals in it are concentrated when it's grown in water, not leached into the surrounding soil as with bush - it will give you a nasty headache and take a bit more to get you buzzing)??
I don't know. I personally would not use either during pregnancy period, but each to their own. Yes, the baby has rights too, but ultimately it is going to be the mother who has to live with the guilt of knowing she has contributed to any harm suffered by the child (yes, it's unfair that the child suffers too, but where do we go from there - start locking up pg women in padded cells and feed them special diets and ensure they don't do anything at all that might potentially harm their growing babies?).

I hope no harm comes to your friend's baby, fact is though if she has had other children and smoked/drank throughout those pregnancies and the kids have not suffered any obvious ill effects, chances are she'll take the stance of, 'Nothin' wrong with these ones' and not have any 'reason' to change her habits, kwim?

But I do hope all goes well.