Effects of smoking & taking rec. drugs on pregnancy chances/health of bub?

Question

How long after giving up smoking (tobacco AND marijuana) does it take for the toxins to leave your body?

OR

How long does it take until they are at a low enough level that it will have minimal-to-no effect on the baby's health & development?

I know what some of the effects of smoking during pregnancy can be, but my mum smoked tobacco while she was pregnant with me (and my bro) but there is nothing wrong with us. Not that I'm going to use that as an excuse when I fall pregnant, just wondering how long it might take until it won't effect the bub.

Answer 1

If you do it before becoming pregnant, then everything should be fine.  I ould say weeks to a couple months should be suffient.

Answer 2

Marijuanna takes three months to leave your system....not 100% sure about tobacco BUT it could take years for your lungs to heal and what not.....There really isnt any specific time frames when drugs will began to affect the baby so the best bet is to not do it.....your mom is lucky that nothing happened to you, and actually you might of been smarter if she hadnt done it....they say that it lowers the baby IQ....so really just because physically you LOOK fine doesnt mean that your MENTALLY fine....so just dont do any of that stuff, give your baby the best chance it can get by being healthy and responsible.

Answer 3

My Dad's girlfriend also smoked while she was pregnant and now they have a very healthy 18 month old baby girl.  Still, when you smoke you put poisons in your body, and your baby filters all of that!  I didn't think I was going to be strong enough to quit because smoking was my vice.  I felt so guilty but I thought I was no match for my addiction.  But then when I was 17 weeks along I felt my baby move for the first time and knew I had to quit.  I did that in 4 days after that!  I'm almost 20 weeks now and I couldn't imagine lighting one up.

My doctor told me that as you quit by 14 weeks you should be safe.  That's because the majority of what cigarettes affect are your baby's lungs!  But smoking can also cause miscarriage, low birthweight, and stillbirth along with many other things.  I really think you should quit smoking before you get pregnant, if you plan it out.