Alcohol Addiction

Using Drugs and Alcohol While Pregnant Can Be Damaging to Mother and Baby

The impacts of drug and alcohol addiction can have serious side effects and implications on a person’s overall health and well-being. As you engage in alcohol or drug abuse, there are serious impacts to a person’s physical health including damage to specific organs such as the liver, kidneys, and heart, Substance abuse can significantly impact a person’s immune system and overall physical functioning of the longer your addictive behaviors continue. Drugs and alcohol can create severe physical dependencies within users that can lead a person to experience mild to severe withdrawal symptoms that can significantly impact their day-to-day functioning and create a vicious cycle of addiction as they attempt to drink to mitigate and manage the onset of withdrawal symptoms. 

Although addiction can have significant impacts on a person, when you are pregnant and living with an active addiction, the impacts can be devastating for the mother and baby. During pregnancy, the health of the mother is crucial for the proper development and health of the unborn baby. While a mother is pregnant, it is important for the baby’s health that the mother is getting proper nutrition, nutrients, and sleep for the fetus to grow and develop. Engaging in substance abuse can cause a baby to have a deficiency in the essential nutrients and vitamins that will promote positive fetal development. There are increased risks for pregnant women to have full-term pregnancies while engaging in substance abuse as some women may experience premature births or, in some cases, there may be birth defects due to exposure to drugs or alcohol. Infants are at risk of having low birth weights, having a small head circumference, and, in some cases, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or babies being born stillbirth. . Depending on the severity of your substance abuse and specific drugs or alcohol use that you engage in, there is an increased risk for a baby to be exposed to these substances leading to the baby being born addicted to those substances from birth. This can be damaging to the child’s first moments of life as they will need to endure withdrawal symptoms upon birth that can be difficult for a newborn to move through. Although there are potential risks for pregnant women and babies, there are treatments available that are safe for the mother and the baby that will maintain safety for both mother and child while offering effective forms of treatment that will alleviate the physical dependence on drugs and alcohol. Pregnant women and their babies will be able to restore their health and facilitate a healthy birth and new life for the infant. 

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How to Stay Sober During New Year’s Eve

The New Year is a time of great excitement, celebration, and reflection. However, if you have struggled with addiction at any point in your life, you should always have a keen focus on having a sober New Year’s eve. This is something that can be challenging for many people, particularly if they are new to the premise of being sober. However, there are several ways to set yourself up for success regardless of whether you plan to spend the night in or enjoy a night out with friends. 

First and foremost, it’s critical that you surround yourself with people who will always have your best interests at heart. Unfortunately, when you are around people actively drinking or doing drugs, you put yourself in a position where you may be more prone to partake in this activity with them. Therefore, making sure that you’re around sober individuals who truly care about you is a great way to start the new year. 

It’s also just as important to have a plan to maintain your sobriety throughout the night. For example, if you are going out, you may want to plan to go to an AA or NA meeting first so that you can be around people who will reinforce the same values that you have when it comes to remaining sober. One of the great things about NA and AA meetings is that they occur at nearly any time throughout the day or night, seven days a week. In fact, there are some areas that offer additional meetings during the holidays due in large part to the fact that this can be a challenging time of year for many people. There are many virtual NA or AA meetings, making it much easier for you to log into a meeting when you truly need it. 

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Are A Lot of Celebrities in Recovery?

There are numerous people around the world who put celebrities up on a pedestal. They mistakenly believe that since celebrities have an abundance of money and people who love them, they don’t struggle with many of the issues that a “normal” person would have to face. The reality is that, in many ways, celebrities are just like us. There is always the possibility that a celebrity could fall prey to the trap of addiction, which is one of the reasons why many celebrities don’t drink. Deciding not to drink is something that has not only saved their career but it’s also something that has saved their physical and mental health. 

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