Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Pregnancy and Substance Use
During pregnancy, there are many things you can do to keep yourself and your baby healthy. They include getting regular prenatal care, eating healthy, and staying active. But it's also very important to avoid substances that could be harmful to you and your baby, such as tobacco, alcohol, and drugs.
Smoking during pregnancy passes nicotine, carbon monoxide, and many other harmful chemicals to your baby. Nicotine is not only a health danger for you, but it can also damage your developing baby's brain and lungs. Carbon monoxide can keep the developing baby from getting enough oxygen.
If you smoke while pregnant, it raises the risk of your baby being born too small, too early, or with birth defects. During the first year of life, there is a higher risk of your baby dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). And later in life, your child may be more likely to have health problems, such as asthma and obesity.
Other tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, also contain nicotine and are not safe to use during pregnancy. And some of the flavorings used in e-cigarettes may be harmful to developing babies.
You will also want to try to avoid secondhand smoke, which has some of the same risks as smoking during pregnancy.
There is no known amount of alcohol that is safe for you to drink during pregnancy and while trying to get pregnant. All types of alcohol are equally harmful, including all wines and beer. The risks from drinking during pregnancy include problems with the growth of the developing baby and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD is a life-long condition that can cause a mix of physical, behavioral, and learning problems.
Using illegal drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamines, and club drugs, during pregnancy can cause problems for both you and your baby. They may cause low birth weight babies, birth defects, or miscarriage. Your child may be more likely to have learning and developmental disabilities. And if you are injecting the drugs, that puts you at risk for HIV. HIV can be passed along to your baby during pregnancy.
Prescription drug misuse
Misusing prescription drugs can also be harmful. Misuse can include taking more than your prescribed dose or taking it more often, using it to get high, or taking someone else's medicines. The possible effects of misusing a medicine during pregnancy will depend on which medicine you are misusing.
One type of drug that is a concern during pregnancy is opioids. Opioids include strong prescription pain relievers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and tramadol. The illegal drug heroin is also an opioid. Taking opioids during pregnancy can cause problems for you and your baby. The risks include birth defects, preterm birth, the loss of the baby, and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS causes withdrawal symptoms in newborn babies.
If you have pain and your health care provider suggests that you take prescription opioids during pregnancy, first discuss the risks and benefits with the provider. Then if you both decide that you need to take the opioids, you can work together to try to minimize the risks.
Cannabis (marijuana)
If you are taking opioids or are addicted to drugs, don't stop taking them suddenly. That can be dangerous to you and the baby. Instead, contact your provider for help with getting off the drugs safely.
It sits within Substance Use and Disorders, Pregnancy and Reproduction and Female Reproductive System.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Pregnancy and Substance Use
98 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- A Behavioral Activation Prenatal and Postpartum Intervention for Depressed Pregnant SmokersM.D. Anderson Cancer Center
- Interprofessional Simulation Program for Clinical Resilience and Empathy: Project INSPIREUniversity of Utah
- Optimizing Pregnancy and Treatment Interventions for Moms 3.0University of Utah
- Multimodal Fetal and Placental Imaging and Biomarkers of Clinical Outcomes in Opioid Use DisorderSenthil Sadhasivam
- Culturally Engaged REcovery: MOms Connected Through Native communitYUniversity of Utah
- Feasibility and Acceptability Trial to Reduce Tobacco and Cannabis Use During Pregnancy and PostpartumUniversity of Pittsburgh
Research already completed
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Smoking Cessation in PregnancyVanderbilt University Medical Center
- STEPuP: Prenatal Provider Education and Training to Improve Medication-assisted Treatment Use During PregnancyUniversity of Pittsburgh
- Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder in Expectant MothersT. John Winhusen, PhD
- Effects of Pregnancy-associated Hormones on THC Metabolism in WomenUniversity of Washington
- mHealth to Help Pregnant and Postpartum Women in Recovery for Opioid Use DisorderWashington University School of Medicine
- Open Trial of Technology-Enhanced Behavioral Intervention for Buprenorphine Retention in Pregnant and Postpartum PeopleMedical University of South Carolina
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Substance Use during PregnancyCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Understanding Fetal Alcohol Spectrum DisordersNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Statistics and Research
- PeriStats (Perinatal Statistics)March of Dimes Foundation
- Polysubstance Use During PregnancyCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
- Substance Use While Pregnant and BreastfeedingNational Institute on Drug Abuse
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy and Substance UseNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Substance-Related Disorders, Pregnancy. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Pregnancy and Substance Use, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.