DR. WALLACE: I'm a couple years under the age of 18, and I just found out that I'm a few months pregnant. The father of this child sadly has been doing hard drugs for the past six months or more.

Please don't lecture me about the mistakes I've made, or for hanging out with this particular guy. You don't know how we met or what transpired to get me to this point.

My simple question is, could my unborn baby be at risk for deformities because her father is currently a serious drug addict? I haven't taken any such drugs, and I don't drink alcohol either. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet, but the first thing I thought of was what potential harm my baby might have suffered because of her potential father's addiction. — Worried About This, via email

WORRIED ABOUT THIS: It is indeed quite fortunate that you have not taken any drugs nor participated in consuming alcohol.

Your unborn child is much more likely to be influenced by any substance use that you may have experienced, due to exposure via the bloodstream in the womb. However, recent studies indicate it is possible that your child's father may pass on some attributes, tendencies or behavioral patterns. The best thing to do at this point is to seek out a reputable health care provider and ask all these questions thoroughly and directly to get the specific answers you need in your particular case.

Seek out health care not only for this purpose but also for your own personal health and safety. I wish you the very best going forward and highly encourage you to set up a support network around you immediately.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM THE TRACKS!

DR. WALLACE: My best friend walks home every day on train tracks. I tell him not to do it, but he does it anyway.

He told me that today's modern trains have technology that will see the heat from a human being from a half a mile away, and they can always slow down in time in case someone is not paying attention while walking on the train tracks.

He claims that with all the "AI technology" these days, nobody will ever get hit by a train again. Is this true? — Worried About My Friend

WORRIED ABOUT MY FRIEND: To my knowledge there is no such technology in effect, and what your friend is doing is extremely dangerous! Many people, especially young people, feel that walking on train tracks as a shortcut to where they're going is relatively safe, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Many times I've noted stories about train track accidents in which someone saw a train coming and moved to get off the tracks, only to be struck by a train coming from the opposite direction. In addition, in today's world with many people, including teenagers, glued to their cellphones, it's tempting to watch videos and even put in earbuds while doing so.

You are entirely correct to warn your friend not to walk anywhere near train tracks as a shortcut.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Colin Davis at Unsplash