So if my girlfriend is pregnant and got inpregnated about 3 weeks ago....If she has been drinking and smoking is the kid screwed? Or is there hope we wont have a retarted kid with 3 arms?

Despite what the health nazis try and tell you, up til very recently the majority of women smoked and drank during pregnancy. Hell, the doctors even told my mom to drink Guinness when she was pregnant with my younger brother (and my mom HATES beer!).

It increases the risk thats all. But pregnancy itself is a gamble, all you can do is reduce the odds. Just like living healthy doesn't guarantee a healthy child.

Ok, I completely disagree with Jack, even if does just increase the risk (most probably by a lot), she's giving birth to a human child, and think how are it would be for all three of you if this baby ended up being retarded. Even if he will be born normal, it will all probably effect his brain somehow. My advice is quit the smoking/drinking.

I would certainly advise her to quit the drinking (a least anything more than a glass of wine a day) and to try and cut down on the smokes as much as possible.

I need to add that alot of women don't even know they are pregnant for up to 3 months after conception and as a result do all kinds of stupid shit in that time, like 'party' take drugs etc.

A lot of them have normal kids, some don't. You can't assume anything.

My best advice is to get her to agree to cut down the smoking to 10 ultra lights a day and the drinking to one glass of red wine with the meal.

I'm a 60 a day man, chain smoking, alcoholic and I know that for something that important I could, in the short term, keep to that regime.

WHATEVER you do DO NOT STRESS HER OUT ABOUT HER SMOKING AND DRINKING!

I say quit them both for the good of the baby. However i hate kids soo...keep doing them! :D

I know a lot of mothers who smoked the whole way through their pregnancy and the kid came out fine.

I'm not condoning smoking while pregnant, and cutting down as much as possible is definitely advisable.

I just have to emphasise what jack said, don't pressure her about it. Let her know if you want her to quit, and let that be the end of it. From then on, it is her decision. The raging hormones, along with the stress of coming to terms with the fact you're bringing a child onto the planet and have to change your life for it, is all stressful enough without a winging spouse complaining about how the featus cannot feed properly due to cigarettes tainting the afterbirth.

i bet a 3 armed kid would kick ASS at playing drums...

Also, it could have a cigarette in each hand!

I smoked and drank before I knew I was pregnant with my daughter and that wasn't until I was...About 6 weeks along. I quit both as soon as I found out I was pregnant with her, though and she is a GENIOUS. Seriously she is and she is physically perfect. As long as your girlfriend quits now, everything should be fine.

Unlike her Mom who can't even spell genius?

:P

As long as your girlfriend quits now, everything should be fine.

This isn't true. As long as she quits now everything will be as well as it can be, but that doesn't mean everything will be fine...

Unlike her Mom who can't even spell genius?

:P

My mom must've drank when she was pregnant...In the true southern way.:P

My mom must've drank when she was pregnant...In the true southern way.:P

Sorry just couldn't resist that one, 'specially as you put it in caps an all :P

It's just a gamble. Most mothers that smoke or drink continue to do so in the beginning, before they realize they're pregnant.

Does she plan to stop? Better safe than sorry.

I'm guessing my old East End 'Nan' dropped all her sprogs while puffing on a filterless "Capstan Full Strength" or "Woodbine" and necking on a pint of 'pigs' (thats beer in old cockney)

Just the way things were back then. Your parents or grandparents probably smoked and drank their whole lives.

edit-an just so you knows there woz none of this modern nonsense about the father being around for the birth! He'd have either been off in Froggy-Land liberating the h'oppressed masses from under the 'eel of the Nazis, in the shop or down the rubba (pub).

Ok, my sister didn't find out she was having a kid for a while. Until she found out she had been smoking, drinking, doing blow and other shit. Well she was freaked out, because she didn't want the baby to be fucked up. She researched some shit and found out that for the first couple of weeks or so the placenta isn't connected to the baby yet, so you aren't sharing blood and shit.

I'd say as long as she quits now she'll be fine. Don't worry about it.

Jack is 100% right on all of this, so don't buy so much into all the hype in regard to the pregnancy.

Here is a great thought for ya......you can do everything RIGHT, and your kid will still come out with some deformity....and you can do everything WRONG, and it will be just fine. Yes, you are somewhat gambling with statistics and probability.....but its all in fate, god's, karma's hands (whatever your belief is).

I myself used to hang out with a couple that were MAJOR coke fiends. I know for an absolute fact this chick smoked crack at least up until 2 weeks of giving birth. That kid came out fine, both physically and mentally. You got more important things to worry about than the ramblings of the politically correct health community. Pick your battles and your stresses bud, cuz you have just opened the door to an entire lifetime of worry now. Good luck!

The first couple of months is when the baby is devloping most... so it could cause major problems to the baby.

There is an increased chance your kid will get ADHD or autistic stuff like asperger and savant syndrome if you drink during preggy-time.