are mothers allowed to keep their baby if baby is born addicted to methadone
We got to go home 7 days after he was born. He was on methadone for 6 weeks at home, with weekly visits from a nurse and to the hospital for appointments and to pick up the medicine. I will say that my baby is healthy and one of the happiest 8 month old you would ever meet! Now, 2 weeks ago I had my little girl. FAQ: Opiates and Pregnancy. Most opiate-addicted women who get pregnant worry about doing the right thing, and many want to stop using opiates as soon as possible to protect the health of their unborn child. Unfortunately, quitting opiates very suddenly puts the fetus at great risk, and invariably does more harm than good. A lot of pregnant women on methadone wonder if, for the good of the baby, they should reduce their methadone dosage or quit their methadone maintenance treatment while pregnant. In general, pregnant women should avoid reducing methadone intake during pregnancy. In fact, babies cannot be born “addicted” to anything regardless of drug test results or indicia of physical dependence. Evidence of physiologic dependence on (not addiction to) opiates has been given the name neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition that is diagnosable and treatable. 2.) breastfeeding just prolongs the issue. Your baby gets small amounts of the drug and methadone is very long acting. Doctors and nurses will tell you breastfeeding is the best option but I assure you it is not. I quit breastfeeding so my bsby could get the help she needed. They are the tiniest addicts. Babies whose mothers are hooked on opioids such as heroin, prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, or who are in a registered methadone treatment program. These are babies who have a harder time out of the gate. As many as 80 percent are born addicts. You are more likely to lose the baby if you continue to abuse opiates. The abuse of heroin or other opiates during pregnancy is associated with a 600 percent increase in prenatal obstetric complications. Previous users of heroin are taking methadone to help with their addiction to that drug. Without methadone you want your heroin back. So of course a baby is born to a woman who has done heroin or taken methadone during her pregnancy is going to go through withdrawal symptoms just as an adult would. This baby is no longer getting her dose of heroin or methadone like she was when she was in the womb. These poor babies are born terribly irritable, unconsolable crying for hours on end the first several weeks. Poor feeders, poor suck, digestive problems. It is bad. Variations depend in large part on the type of drug the mother was taking while pregnant; whether she also was addicted to alcohol, smoking or other medication; and whether she was in treatment at the time of the baby's birth. Heroin's effect shows up the earliest in newborns. Methadone may take up to 72 hours. You don't have to be scared to lose your baby, because if you are taking your methadone as prescribed and not taking any other drugs, there is no reason to take your baby. I was on methadone with my son, who is now two, and I am currently pregnant with my second child.
Yes