I just found out that my best friend has been doing cocaine during her 6months of pregnancy what should i do ?

Question

Is her baby Doomed.......I feel so sad

Answer 1

You are a good friend to be concerned and help like this.

Does your friend openly use drugs or is it secretive, if the use is open then talk to her and ask her to go with you to her GP, or alternatively to a local drug service. Numbers are available online or from your local Drug Action Team at the local council. There your friend will be able to get advice and support on stoping the drug use.

If the drug use is secretive this will be more difficult. I would advise you speak to your friend about it if you feel you can. Or find information about cocaine use and pregnancy and leave it for her to read. A quick serch on Google found lots of sites of information, a good one is http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1169.asp

Cocaine has similar effects on pregnancy as smoking, low birth weight and a weaker child. Also the baby can be more porone to learning difficulties and an increased chance of brain development damage.

You can't force your friend to do anything about this but do what you feel you need to to put your mind at rest. ADFAM (National Charity for Families of Drug Users) run a helpline offering confidential support and information to the families and friends of drug users020 7928 8898, email [e-mail]

Just an extra point I'd like to add is that drug use cannot be labeled as the same in every occasion. Cocaine use is not the same as Heroin use and not all drug users can be considered as 'Junkies'. Some cocaine users lead a fully normal life without any destruction, some use it sporadically never picking up an addiction and some do become addicted. Each problem should be dealt with in it's own way. I am uncomfortable reading about the mean comments written by some people here.

Social Services can help if you feel the problem is bad enough to go down that route, if you think this can be managed without that intervention avoid it, once social services are involved although support will be offered the baby will be closely monitored by the Local Authority.

Good luck in this.

Answer 2

I think it depends on how close you are to your friend.

Have a look at the talktofrank.com, which is a UK drug service. It recommends the following when speaking to a friend about drugs:
1 Decide what you want to say
2 Talk to them when you're calm
3 Avoid asking 'Why?'
Because it puts people on the defensive. And, they might not know why they do five pills / have risky sex / owe the dealer money they haven't got. Ask questions beginning How, When, What, Where. It'll get the conversation moving and you won't simply get a Yes or No answer.
4. Focus on them not the drugs
5. Stick by them

When you have your friend speaking with you honestly I would tell her how concerned you are about her and her baby. There are serious consequences to her actions, there is a very real chance that she could have her baby taken away from her. I think, if you value the friendship you have to tell her how concerned you are about this otherwise, and if she continues her behaviour, I can’t see how there would be any future for the relationship. Good luck and I hope, for the sake of your friend and her baby, you are able to get through to her.

Answer 3

Chocolate she is your friend and as such you are duty bound to tell her that you know about her habit. Do it now and hang the consequences of your actions on your friendship.

I take it that she is an inteligent person and will know what harm she could be causing her unborn child. I think also that she is scared to stop taking the cocaine as she is frightened of the pain of withdrawal symptoms. However, you must tell her that she can get help and that if she doesn't there is a fair chance that she will have her baby taken away from her at birth...that is if it survives to full term.

I hope you are able to shoulder this burden of responsibility, but if she has no one else then you have no choice. Good luck and I hope that everything will turn out for the best.

Answer 4

Inform the Baby's Father immediately and let her parents know also, she will hate you for it and despise you, never want to see you again, but all Cocaine users become self absorbed and feel they are untouchable, that they are better than everybody else, its part of the symptoms of taking cocaine, its like the ultimate confidence drug!

Having dealt with my brother in this instance and he was only 18, I had to make sure our parents knew about it and I also spoke to our GP on what to do, unfortunately he had to be placed in rehab as he was stealing and hurting others to get what he wanted, it was either that or juvenile hall for him. He hated me for it, but after 7 months in rehab he realised what an idiot he had been...

So please don't be put off by the fact that your friend is going to despise you, she’s placing her baby in great risk and the baby is no doubt addicted to her habit also.
What she is doing is increasing the baby’s heartbeat 100 fold as well as raising her blood pressure sky high, most babies born under addictive mothers are either born, quite small, premature or with respiratory problems and the worst still birth, also miscarriages are quite common place also.
Believe me I had to know all about the effects with my own brother!

So please I beg you ASAP tell her family immediately, You should also find out how much she has been shoving up her nose a day or if she is smoking it! Try and find out who the dealer is even if you have to do it sneakily, if he’s around and her family are trying to help her stop it only puts temptation in her path!
The point is if she continues down this path untouched by anyone on the matter she could find herself giving birth to a dead child or worse losing it along the way, remember her mind is in a position where she is not thinking about the baby only about the fix!

So good luck and I will say a prayer for you, she needs a saviour and you and her family can only do that, for the child sake more than anything!

Answer 5

Amazingly babies are miraculously resiliant even in the womb. If your friend's using she' not likely to listen to anything you might try to say to help her help herself or her baby. At 6 months the growing baby is probably already used to a certain level of cocaine itself so for her to stop sudenl might actually do more harm than good. I'd be inclined to make sure that her medics are aware she's using so that they can help the child as soon as it's born, and to offer her help too. Sadly, as her friend, the only thing you can really do is to be there for her as her friend and hope she wants to stop using once her baby is born.Good Luck x

Answer 6

first of all u need 2 tell that talking coke while pregnant will restrict the blood flow + oxygen to her baby causing goodness knows what. try + get her to see sense she could at least give up till the baby is born. her babys health is more important. maybe she wants a baby who has cerebyl palsey or brain damage the list is endless. learning difficulties etc. a baby is hard enough to care 4 when they are healthy never mind with added health problems. she needs to come clean to her doctor straight away so they can check the baby on a scan

Answer 7

take ur friend out on a nice dinner. While eating, make her comfortable by telling her som of ur secrets and in so doing she can open her problems to u.Someone doing cocaine and she knows she is pregnant means she has an issue.It does not mean she wants to harm the baby. But while talking to her, you have to show her that their is love around her and she has to think about the baby. The baby can be born with mental disabilities which is not good. Find out if she can change her environment for the rest of her pregnancy days. A peaceful and lovely place. Talking can solve this and you have to make sure you have the power to listen to her problems and come up with the right words.

Answer 8

There's not much you can do now. The baby's bones, organs (including brain), nervous system, etc. develop during the first trimester (first three months of pregnancy). After that, it's just a matter of the organs, bones, muscles, etc. growing and getting bigger and more mature. Whatever harm has been done is irreversible now. I'll be praying that CPS is there to take her baby once it is born (if it survives).

Answer 9

Did she admit this to your face? If so, maybe she's secretly hoping you will get her some help, i agree you should get in contact asap with a drug counsellor. Certainly once the baby is born social services should get involved if they aren't already, there may still be time then to get help for the baby, perhaps even by removing it from the mother. It's a horrible position for you to be put in and you might feel bad for shopping her but if she gets over her addiction in years to come she will thank you.

Answer 10

Take Of The Hijab And Join Her, Only Joking, Tell Her The Effects It Will Have On The Child. Allah Knows Best And Pray