http://druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/can-babies.htm this is the results from testing done the first 30 days after birth. The babies exposed to marijuana prenatally actually tested better than babies not exposed. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1957518 and then they did a follow up at 5 years. I was thinking they followed the children longer than that but appearantly the study had to stop at 5 years due to lack of funding.
Just to clarify, epidurals do not harm babies. The drugs stay in your spinal column and do not cross the placental barrier. It's admirable that you want to try for a natural birth, but there's no reason to feel inferior or possibly make others feel inferior for not being able to go through with a natural birth. C-sections may be overdone, but they are also sometimes necessary and save lives. You are also lucky to have had an uncomplicated pregnancy.
Strawberry_Fields.... oh no, I did not mean to make anyone feel inferior at ALL, not my intention, I am fully aware that at times epidurals are necessary and c-sections are also many times medically necessary for the safety of mother and baby... I completely completely understand and respect that. I do not judge ANY WOMAN on which way the choose to give birth. I meant it to be understood that I am choosing a natural birth without induction because I have been fortunate enough to have a healthy and uncomplicated pregnancy. heaven knows not every woman is as fortunate, and I am so very grateful. (I know Pitocin does in fact stress the baby out though through experiences with my mother and the worries we had when my baby brother was born, perhaps that is what I was thinking of.) I definitely respect all women's decisions regarding childbirth. It is a crazy thing and all women are strong for going through it. No doubt. No disrespect meant!
csunchild, I don't believe you have been rude at all. I like you, opted for a natural birth. I wanted to feel the labor, I wanted to fully experience the birthing process... if you want to read about my labor I posted it in the thread called Labor Stories. I read through the entire thread when I was pregnant. It was pretty amazing. This Flyby guy, albeit annoying, is just trying to send a message, it's an important one: we can't be sure what will harm our unborn babies so the recommendation is to avoid everything under the sun that is not necessary during pregnancy. Feeling sick and getting sick are normal parts of life and normal parts of pregnancy. You just need to wait it out. Smoking weed, is most likely harmless, but we don;t know for certain so it's best not to do it at all. AND if you do decide to smoke just don't tell anyone, because you will get angry people getting all crazy on you with their beliefs about how you should treat your body and your child's development. Personally, I chose not to smoke pot during pregnancy because pot is something I only ever do on vacation, so it wasn't even hard for me to give up. What I did before I was knew I was preggo, well, I can't go back in time and change that although I wish I could because it does bother me and I don't typically tell anyone. Not even my midwife. On top of this, smoking is a personal choice, it's something that you decide to do or not do. Since an unborn child cannot escape what you put into your body, I decided to give it all up right away. I put up with sickness and sleepiness and being unable to eat etc etc because it's a natural and normal part of pregnancy. Much love to you and your lil baby