The dangers of using drugs often lead to unhealthy choices while you’re using, but it can also be that those situations and decisions lead to drug use. It’s a vicious cycle that can only end one of two ways: serious damage to the user, or recovery.

But if, along the way, you end up pregnant while you’re still taking drugs, now, you’ve brought a child into your dangerous lifestyle. You’re risking your health, and taking the chance that your child will be born with life-threatening medical conditions, genetic disorders, and a drug addiction.

The good news is that you can get help before any more damage is done to you or your child. Places like Anchored Tides Recovery in Huntington Beach, CA offer a safe, effective, and judgment-free space to heal from the physical and emotional harm your time abusing drugs has created. This choice could lead you to a future where you and your child are both healthy and happy.

Not sure if this is the path you want to take yet? Consider these 4 dangers that pregnancy and addiction can cause, then decide.

1. Newborn Crises

Although drug use during pregnancy can result in miscarriages, the reality is that you’re more likely to carry your child to term. But that doesn’t mean that you and your baby aren’t at risk. There’s a significant chance that your child could be stillborn or born with congenital diseases that will affect them throughout their lives.

In the early days, as you adjust to being a new mom, your child is at greater risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). They’ll likely experience severe developmental and cognitive delays, as well as behavioral issues.

2. Dangers to Self

Using drugs while pregnant adds a substantial extra risk of harm to you, as well. Not only are you exposing yourself to the dangers from the drug itself, but miscarriages and stillborn births are difficult on your body. In severe cases, they can become fatal.

Drug use puts you in situations that can be treacherous, too. You’re at risk of violence from those around you and more likely to be a victim of crime. Those who engage in drug use are prone to infectious diseases from needle use, sexual interaction, and other behaviors.

Importantly, using drugs is illegal, and you risk being prosecuted for your addiction. In some states, laws prosecute women who put their children’s safety in danger because of drug use. However, most doctors and rehab facilities respond with compassion and the desire to help, not to prosecute and punish. Still, if you don’t want to risk being in jail when you give birth, it’s wise to seek assistance now.

3. Opioids and Meth Use Skyrocket the Dangers

Although use of any drug increases your chance of a risky pregnancy and birth, if your drug of choice is an opiate or methamphetamine (or both), the dangers skyrocket. In fact, the risk of a mother addicted to these drugs dying during childbirth or having significant complications doubles. Pregnancy-related issues tend to be more serious, such as preeclampsia, heart attacks, and heart failure. You may even require a blood transfusion while giving birth.

Children born to meth and opiate-addicted mothers often require immediate neonatal care to stay alive, sometimes staying in these facilities for weeks or months. During that time, your tiny infant will go through drug withdrawals just as an adult does, experiencing tremors, fevers, breathing struggles, and other complications.

4. Dehydration and Nutritional Problems

Eating for two may sound like a joke pregnant women use to excuse their increased appetite, but at its core, it’s a valid reason. Your body requires increased vitamins and nutrients to take on the extra stress of growing a child, and the baby is siphoning nutrients from you to develop for nine months.

Yet, those using drugs are rarely focused on their diet and water intake. This deficiency leads to dehydration and vitamin problems that can impact the child’s development, causing spinal cord and organ defects. Mothers will experience the harm of lack of vitamins and water as they go through their pregnancy.

Help is Available

No matter how far into your term you are, getting help immediately will improve the overall outcome for you and your child. Crucially, you’ll build connections with people who care about you and your well-being, giving you the opportunity to start anew after your pregnancy with a healthy physical and emotional outlook.