mom and toddler

Healthy Choices for a Healthy Baby: Staying Alcohol- and Drug-Free

January 8, 2025 Women

The choices you make today can stay with your baby for a lifetime.

When you’re pregnant, your baby is connected to everything you eat, drink, and experience. This means that what goes into your body affects your baby, too. Choosing to stay away from smoking, drinking, and drugs can be one of the best things you do to give your baby a healthy start.

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs:
How They Can Affect Your Baby

Many women choose to protect their babies by avoiding harmful substances during pregnancy. Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs can hurt a baby’s growth and development. For example, e-cigarettes and vaping devices contain nicotine and other chemicals that can be just as harmful as regular cigarettes.

You can make choices now that will help protect your baby’s health forever.

Quit Smoking

Quit Smoking for Your Baby’s Health

When you smoke, your baby is exposed to harmful chemicals. Quitting now can help protect your baby’s growth and development. Babies exposed to smoke before or after birth may have a higher chance of:

  • Being born too small or too early
  • Experiencing breathing or sleeping problems
  • Facing behavior issues later in life

Even secondhand smoke can harm your baby. Babies who are around secondhand smoke are at greater risk of asthma, ear infections, allergies, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

What You Can Do Now:

  • Quit smoking today! It’s never too late to stop.
  • Ask for help—support is available if quitting feels hard.

After Your Baby Arrives:

  • Keep your baby away from smoke. Don’t allow anyone to smoke around your baby.
  • Breastfeed your baby, and stay smoke-free. Smoking can reduce milk supply and affect your baby’s growth.
Quit Alcohol

Take a Break from Alcohol

Alcohol can harm your baby at any stage of pregnancy. There is no safe amount to drink while pregnant. Drinking alcohol can cause a range of serious problems, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Babies with FASD may have birth defects, vision and hearing problems, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues.

What You Can Do Now:

  • If you’re pregnant, it’s safest not to drink at all.
  • If you’re struggling to stop, reach out for help—there are resources to support you.
pregnant lady pumping

After Your Baby Arrives:

  • Be very cautious about drinking alcohol, if you choose to drink at all.
  • If you choose to drink, wait until your baby is at least 3 months old and breastfeeding is going well. You may consume a single alcoholic drink, then wait at least 4 hours after before breastfeeding. You may also express breast milk before drinking to feed your baby later.
  • Remember, your baby depends on you. Be responsible. Stay sober.
Stay Off Drugs

Stay Off Drugs for a Safer Pregnancy

Any street drug, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and meth, can harm your baby. Misusing prescription drugs can also be harmful if they’re not taken exactly as prescribed. Using these substances can increase the risk of birth defects, premature birth, and other serious health issues.

What You Can Do Now:

  • Protect your baby by staying drug-free.
  • If you need help stopping drug use, ask for support. Trying again, even if it’s difficult, can make a huge difference.

After Your Baby Arrives:

  • Stay drug-free to support your baby’s health. Remember, drugs can pass through your breast milk and affect your baby.

Ask Before Taking Any Medicines

Before taking any medicine, check with your doctor. Some medicines, even common ones like pain relievers and allergy pills, may not be safe during pregnancy. Taking the wrong medicine could lead to birth defects or developmental problems.

What You Can Do Now:

  • Tell your doctor about all medicines, vitamins, or supplements you take.
  • If you get sick, ask which medicines are safe for you and your baby.

After Your Baby Arrives:

  • Check with your doctor before taking any medicines if you’re breastfeeding, as they can pass through your breast milk.

Getting Support: A Healthy Start for Your Baby

Choosing not to smoke, drink, or use drugs while pregnant or breastfeeding is one of the most important things you can do for your baby’s health.

Remember, your baby depends on you for a healthy, safe start in life. With the right choices and support, you can make a positive difference that will last a lifetime.

REFERENCES:

United States Department of Agriculture. Give Your Baby a Healthy Start.
https://wicworks.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/Give_Your_Baby_a_Healthy_Start_English.pdf

Feeding a 6-7 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon and from a bowl, never from a bottle.

Feeding a 10-12 Month Old

Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition for your baby, even after you start offering solid foods.

Feeding a 8-9 Month Old

Feed solids with a spoon. Never put cereal in a bottle.

Tips

Mom new born home

Breast milk and formula feeding:

Around 2-3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months of age, babies may experience a growth spurt when they feed more often.

As they grow babies can hold more milk, so feedings may become further apart and take less time.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Start offering whole milk when your baby is one year old.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months and beyond.

feeding solid foods

Feeding solid foods:

Wait to offer solid foods until your baby:

  • Can sit up and hold up their own head.
  • Opens their mouth when they see food.
  • Can close their lips around a spoon.

To prevent choking, always hold your baby when feeding. Never prop up a bottle to feed.

Try one new food at a time. Wait 5 days before trying another new food to watch for allergies. Food allergies may include wheezing, rash, or diarrhea.

Introduce peanut butter around 6 months. Spread a small, thin smear of peanut butter or nut butter thinly on a cracker.  Watch your baby for any reaction for the next 2 hours.

Babies under one year should NOT have honey due to the risk of botulism. Also, babies should not have foods that can cause choking like nuts or whole grapes.

All babies are different. Talk with WIC or your baby’s healthcare provider about your baby’s needs.

Feeding Cues

Feeding a 4-5 Month Old

Before teeth come in, wipe gums with a soft, clean wash cloth after each feeding, especially before bed.

Feeding a 0-3 Month Old

Newborns have tiny tummies and need to be fed often. In the first few weeks, you may need to wake your baby to feed if they sleep longer than 4 hours.

Growth Spurts

Many babies are fussy during a growth spurt and will want to nurse longer and more often. This is called cluster feeding. This is your baby’s way of helping you increase your milk supply so that you can keep up with their needs. Remember, the more your baby nurses, the more milk your body makes.

Growth spurts can happen at any time, and every baby is different.

They often happen at these ages:

two-three-weeks

2 to 3 Weeks

6 Weeks

three-months

3 Months

six-months

6 Months

What foods can I get?

Authorized Food List
Authorized Food List

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