Pregnancy and heroin
Using heroin during pregnancy can affect both the mother and the unborn child. Inform antenatal staff of heroin use and attend regular antenatal checkups.

Regular checkups are important because heroindependent women are more likely than other women to:

• lose the baby during pregnancy, have the baby too early or have the baby born dead
• pass infections such as HIV, hepatitis B and C or blood poisoning on to the baby
• have health and social problems during pregnancy and childbirth. Babies can also have problems after they are born.

It is important to get help from health staff on how to care for your baby. New babies of heroin-dependent mothers are more likely to:
• be sick in the first few weeks of life and later
• have withdrawal symptoms when they are born (because they are no longer getting heroin from the mother’s blood supply)

Mixing heroin with other drugs
You are more likely to overdose if you use heroin at the same time as other drugs, especially alcohol or minor tranquillisers. Mixing other drugs with heroin can also cause other physical and mental problems.

Tolerance and dependence
Anyone can develop a ‘tolerance’ to heroin or other
drugs. Tolerance means that you must take more of the drug to feel the same effects you used to have with smaller amounts.

‘Dependence’ on heroin means that it takes up a lot of your thoughts, emotions and activities. You spend a lot of time thinking about using heroin, looking for heroin, using it and getting over the effects of using it. You also find it difficult to stop using or control how much you use. Dependence can lead to a variety of health, money, legal, work and relationship problems.

Not all people who ever use heroin become dependent. Dependence happens gradually with ongoing use.

Withdrawal
People who are dependent on heroin find it very hard to stop using or cut down because of withdrawal symptoms. These can begin to occur only a few hours after last using heroin.

Symptoms include:
• feeling restless
• yawning
• a runny nose
• crying
• diarrhoea
• low blood pressure
• goosebumps
• stomach and leg cramps
• wanting heroin very badly (cravings).

Heroin and the law
Using herion is illegal. If you use, sell or give heroin to someone else and get caught, you could face substantial fines and penalties including a prison sentence. Many overseas countries (eg Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand) have much harsher penalties — including the death penalty — for people who break their drug laws.

If you are convicted on a drug charge you then have a criminal record. This can cause many other problems such as trouble getting a job, a credit card, or a visa to travel overseas. It is illegal to drive under the influence of drugs, including heroin. Penalties include losing your licence, a fine and/or jail.

Heroin slows down the workings of your brain and your body, so it may make you drive dangerously.