Addiction and having children

I have to say that the jury is out on the effects of meth and birth outcomes. 20 years ago we believed that children born to crack/cocaine addicted mothers would have horrific outcomes. That is not being seen on the longitudinal studies. When you look at children who are addicted at birth, they do go through detox and have longer hospital stays due to the addiction, low birth weights and premature birth. I am not aware of any conclusive studies on a woman who is clean prior to getting pregnant and birth outcomes. However over the long term, children who are then raised in healthy, stable homes do well while children raised in poverty and neglect have poorer outcomes overall. It is the issue of nature vs. nurture.

I would highly suggest consulting with a ob/gyn or even a pediatrician with experience working with children of addicted parents to discuss the medical outcomes.