Alcohol And Pregnancy
Alcohol and Pregnancy:
For pregnant women, there is no known safe level of drinking. A woman who drinks alcohol during pregnancy is more likely to have a miscarriage, to have the baby born too early, to have a low birthweight baby or to have a stillborn baby (which means the baby is born dead), or to have other problems.
A baby may be born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This means the baby may have physical abnormalities, behaviour problems and other difficulties.
Breastfeeding: If a woman is breastfeeding, alcohol can be passed to her baby through the breastmilk. This may affect the baby’s feeding, the baby's sleep and how the baby develops. If the mother does plan to drink alcohol, she should feed the baby or pump breast milk before she drinks.
Sex and alcohol/drugs:
Using drugs and alcohol increases your chances of having unprotected sex and/or engaging in riskier sexual behavior. Be sure you are using birth control to preven pregancy until you are ready to have a child.
If you do have unprotected sex, the female partner can take the emergency contraception pill (ECP) up to 72 hours afterward to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. However the earlier you take ECP, the better. You can access ECP from a pharmacy (you don't need a prescription), Youth Health Centres, CBU Max Bell Health Centre, emergency units at local hospitals or you can go to your doctor for help.
Check out these sites for lots of information on sexuality and safe sex.
