Heroin, cannabis or smoking in pregnancy

I have reason to be very concerned about this in relation to a young family member - that is why I am watching. It is indeed very worrying; but might account for a great deal.

Try telling that to somebody who has watched a baby born with withdrawal symptoms.

It is heart breaking.

May be less harmful, but still damaging.

I find that difficult to believe. I drank during both my pregnancies (although only very moderately) and I'm sure in times gone by most women drank during pregnancy.

It's just like the peanut thing - women being told not to eat peanuts during pregnancy and not to allow young children to eat anything with peanuts in it. Now they are saying that this advice actually created a sensitivity, and instead small amounts of peanuts will help in preventing children from developing a nut allergy.

I think if they keep issuing these sorts of statements, people will start to get so confused that they won't be able to make decisions about anything - or maybe that's the idea - "learned helplessness" - a whole population that is frozen with indecision and thus far more malleable.

The evidence is strong, and seeing one child with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder might be enough to shock anyone into thinking the risk is too high to take. I have known foster carers who have cared for babies withdrawing from heroin, and those whose mothers drank, and they will describe quite vividly the heartbreaking effects and all agree that alcohol has the most harmful and lasting effects. Of course many (most) people will get away with drinking during pregnancy, but for some people a relatively small amount of alcohol can cause a lot of damage. There's just no way of knowing how much is safe for each individual.

I think, as was said in the programme, we see alcohol as a foodstuff rather than the drug that it is. Withdrawing from heroin is unpleasant but it won't kill you. Withdrawing from alcohol can be fatal. That ought to tell us something.