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Okay, I am not really sure when you went to elementary school, but I am pretty sure that most of you have heard by now that DRUGS ARE BAD. Now, they are not just bad when your baby is inside of you, before labor begins, they are bad before and during your pregnancy and during your labor. There is absolutely no such thing as “safe” when it comes to drugs and your baby. It was once believed that the placenta was a sort of filter. That it would magically take out all of the harmful things that the woman consumed, and only deliver the good things to the baby. The truth is that whatever the mother takes in, whether orally or by injection, that enters the blood stream, goes to the baby. And, because of the small size of the growing baby, the doses are much higher than you may imagine. So, if you swore off margaritas, cigarettes and your daily double-shot of espresso all in the name of good health for the baby, then why would you ruin it by taking pain medications during labor that can harm the baby and put you both in danger? Here are some of the common drugs used by hospitals during labor and the effects that they will have on you and your helpless child:
- Demerol- a form of morphine, can cause breathing problems in the infant, poor muscle tone, poor breastfeeding and possibly a more fussy baby as a long-term effect.
- Epidural-usually some form of narcotic such as Morphine, can cause slowed labor, forceps or vacuum delivery of the baby, emergency c-section (about 3 times as likely), low blood pressure, possible maternal paralyzation, and long term effects on the child’s development.
- Lidocaine or other narcotics given by I.V. or shot- causes maternal drunkenness, nausea, drop in blood pressure and labored breathing, loss of control when pushing, higher risk of emergency c-section, headaches for months after delivery. Baby will be drowsy and unable to breastfeed well after delivery and may be in distress during labor. Long term brain damage can occur in the infant.
- Sedatives- the mother will not be able to move around during labor and because it is hard to tell how rapidly labor will progress, there is a chance that it will be given too close to birth and the baby will be sluggish when born. However, just because they give it early enough that the effects are not noticable at birth, does not mean that it does not reach the baby.
- Tranquilizers- again, the mother will be immobile, and the drug will effect the baby in utero, and possibly cause sluggishness after birth.
If these side effects are not enough to convince you to opt for a natural birth, you may also want to consider that these are the side effects that have been noticed in babies at birth. The brain of a baby is growing and changing very rapidly, and any amount of drug or harmful substance can cause changes in the brain. It is speculated that any of the substances mentioned above may contribute to cognitive and behavioral problems later in life such as ADHD and autism to name a few. So what do you think? Would you rather risk harming, possibly for life, or would you take a little pain, and do what is the safe and nurturing thing for your child? For more information on taking control of your pregnancy and birth and having a medication-free birth, check out Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
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Do you happen to know what all is in epidural? I had it with both boys but this pregnancy I’d like to go natural…I’m just curious what the ingredients are.
I am excited to hear that you are considering going natural this time around. The drugs used in epidurals are usually some sort of narcotic analgesic (pain reliever) like morhphine or Fentanyl. They may also give Pitocin along with this because the epidural commonly slows labor or stops it altogether.
Exactly what kind of long term effects on the child’s development can an epidural have? I wish I had done my research before doing anything. I didn’t do my part in informing myself about anything, maybe because it was completely unexpected?.
I do regret it though; I wish I had done my research.
LadyK,
There is no reason to beat yourself up about it now, and many moms feel the way you do. Even I wish that I had known more with my first two children. The problem is that the medical society as a whole does not want to you know, so that they can do what ever they want when you are in their care. They also certainly don’t want you to think that you could birth without them!
To answer your question, there is not a whole lot out there that will tell you that there are long-term effects on the baby. Some that I have dug up are problems nursing, an excessively fussy baby several months after birth (which would affect bonding properly due to mother feeling inadequate), and delayed responsiveness by the baby. If these things are seen at birth, then there is reason to believe that the drugs got into the baby’s system and could have caused damage to it’s rapidly developing brain. The amount used to numb you would actually be a huge amount for a baby.
I had a Developmental Psychology professor who warned about the side effects. She studied the effects of cocaine on infants and found developmental delays, learning disabilities and bonding problems. She explained that the drugs used during labor would probably cause similar results. I have also read several books in which OBs speculate that it could cause such things as learning disabilities, hyperactivity, and attention problems. That would make sense given all of the children being diagnosed with things like ADHD and Autism or Spectrum Disorders these days.
Again, don’t beat yourself up about it. The best thing we can do, now that we know, is help others.
I do not wish to use this site to make others feel bad about their decisions in any way. Just to educate others, so that they can make informed decisions and so they won’t have to feel bad later.
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