I Took Drugs While Pregnant

Let me tell you another dirty story- but this one is about me.

I have had three children. With two of my pregnancies I have taken a drug. What and why I will not share because it is private but I will say it was a prescribed pharmaceutical drug untested on pregnant women.

This was a difficult situation and decision for me. I strongly believe that NO drug is proven safe for the unborn baby. I strongly believe that part of mothering is sacrifice and a willing sacrifice at that. I am also not a fan of medications if there is any other natural or more holistic way to approach the problem.

But after thought and research and careful consideration I decided to take this drug. I felt, along with my care providers at the time, that the benefit outweighed the risk and that it could eliminate the use of other drugs later on.

Now a few days ago I posted about smoking marijuana in pregnancy. I admit to being surprised at the response I got. It really wasn't that big of a day as far as blog hits or anything like that but definitely got the most heated response I have EVER seen in the few years I have been blogging.

I live in an area where the cultivation of marijuana and its use is both very common, integral to the economy and often legal and prescribed. I admit and admitted in the blog post that I have biases on this subject.
Guess what- if it ticked you off- you are biased too.

I was also told that the post was nothing but my opinion. Well....duh. This is a blog, not CNN. Nobody fact checks me. I can write whatever I want. So can any other blogger out there. That is how it works.

I got a lot of accusations about not understanding why some women NEED drugs (of any type) while they are pregnant.

Now very few of you know me. Actually- I do understand that need. I have been there. I have crossed that bridge and I have made that choice. Guess what. I still think that there is NO DRUG PROVEN SAFE FOR THE UNBORN CHILD. And I have taken them. I do think there are times when it is worth the risk but I think they are rare and should be carefully considered.

When I say I don't really understand what was so offensive about that post I mean it. I mean it because I have been that mom making that choice and that sentence (no drug is proven safe for the unborn child) doesn't hurt my feelings one bit.

I made my choice. I was comfortable with it. It was hard choice. My kids appear to be fine. I sincerely hope that they are and have health their entire lives. I recognize though, that that might not be the case. That is the chance we take and that is the chance I took.

I ONLY made the choice to take a drug while pregnant because I felt that the BENEFIT outweighed the RISK.

If you made that same choice then more power to you. If you know that your choice was right for you, like I feel about mine, then the words of somebody else shouldn't offend you.

In my book, there is a HUGE difference between recreational drug use and a need for a drug. Even a needed drug should be carefully considered from all sides and recognized for what it is, a risk.

And yet it has become blindingly obvious to me that the subject of marijuana in particular, among crunchy moms is a hot button issue. I maintain that this is not a risk (even hypothetical) that anybody should take. I don't get it. I don't understand, and I never will.

My deep wish is that it isn't a risk. My desire would be that those babies whose moms smoke marijuana while pregnant are just fine. Never in a million years would I want any baby to be damaged by that and that is why I wrote the post- to make people think and reconsider if it was absolutely necessary or not.

I also think it is incredibly difficult to prove the safety or lack thereof of any drug, herb, or substance. To do so would require numerous longitudinal studies and even then, with the literally millions of lifestyle and environmental factors related to health, would be difficult to prove. Thus the hard nosed ideas I have about avoidance if at all possible.

What I find strangest of all about this is that I have on numerous occasions posted about the risks and even evils of Pitocin. Pitocin has, without a doubt, saved the lives of thousands of women from one of the true risks of birth, postpartum hemorrhage. I myself have been one of these moms. (I don't find posts about the evils of Pitocin offensive either, despite the fact that it has directly benefited me.)

And yet- I still think that this drug is often used inappropriately. Here is the strange thing- despite the obvious benefits of properly used Pitocin, NOBODY ever gets mad when I talk about what is WRONG with its use. NOBODY.

May we all have wisdom and love for our children as we make the choices that will build them. Peace mamas.

(I am now riding off on my high horse. It is huge. Like in a beer commercial. Ta Ta!)