What are the effects of heroin on an unborn baby?
Women who use heroin during pregnancy greatly increase their risk of serious pregnancy complications. These risks include poor fetal growth, premature rupture of the membranes (the bag of waters that holds the fetus breaks too soon), premature delivery and stillbirth. As many as half of all babies of heroin users are born with low birthweight (6). These babies, many of whom are premature, often suffer from serious health problems during the newborn period, including breathing problems, and are at increased risk of lifelong disabilities. Use of heroin in pregnancy also may increase the risk of a variety of birth defects (6). What is not entirely clear is whether these effects are directly due to the drug itself or related to the poor health behaviors that women who take heroin often have, or whether these effects are due to the substances that the heroin often is mixed with when it is made. Most babies of heroin users suffer from withdrawal symptoms after birth, including fever, sneezin
