babies born with methadone addiction

In response to the "NICU" nurse... #1.. you sound like a bitter. uneducated, dried up old lady. If you were up on current medicine you would know that Methadone is given as a TREATMENT for Opiate addiction AND for chronic pain patients. So your comments about people on methadone not being responsible or FIT to be parents is very IGNORANT. Methadone means that an Addict HAS sought treatment and the mother COULD be someone who suffers from crippling pain everyday. Since you DONT know what youre talking about, Im VERY glad I dont live in your city and have one of MY children fall into the NICU or hospital accidentally and maybe receive some of your poorly educated substandard care. #2- How dare you judge those women when you have NO idea how they got to that point. Maybe they were raped? Maybe their religion doesnt allow for abortion? Maybe they were abused as a little girl? Too bad all those things didnt happen to YOU... sounds like you could use a broader spectrum from which to do your JUDGING... May GOD help you on Judgement day (he has no mercy for evil like yours) And TRUE the withdrawls are HELL, why do you think so many people have a hard time stopping some of those drugs dummy? But luckily for the BABIES, after the 2 or 3 weeks of tapering (which from what you described they arent being properly weened at your NICU cuz if they were they wouldnt be near death as you described) after the weening they are PEFECTLY NORMAL HEALTHY children.. they will NEVER REMEMBER ANY OF THE PAIN THEY WENT THROUGH... JUst like when little boys get circumcised.. or do you think that is wrong too??  What a joke you are. I too am in the medical feield and I have dealt with 100's of these women..  SHAME ON YOU AND YOUR IGNORANT ATTITUDE,, I CAN SEE WHY U REMAIN ANONYMOS

My son was born on methadone and he does have some quirky issues to this day. He is 3 1/2 and VERY intelligent. He has speech delay, emotional problems like hot tempers, defiant, needs a lot of redirection in preschool, and has also been diagnosed ADHD, ODD, and we are working on autism spectrum diagnoses or mood disorder. His motor skills are out of this world. Unbelievable to doctors. He is already riding a two wheel bike on his own the very first try. He has other knacks such as fidgeting, biting his fingers and toes or picking at them. He is light and sound sensitive and sometimes doesnt seem to feel pain. We have a lot of doctors and psychologists involved with him right now. Early detection is the best. He will live a normal life one day. he also has an IEP in school... he is the most loving and compassionate kid ever, but he just cant sit still and focus to learn

I need to reply to this.I hope for feedback.I am a foster parent as well. He looks like he may be adoptable.I have not made my mind up yet. His birth mom was on methadone for the whole pregnancy. I got him at 6 weeks after 5 weeks in NICU. He was still going through withdrawls when I got him. He had the most awful high-pitched crying that I have ever heard. He needed a dark room and tight swaddling.Wanted to be held but it caused too much stimulation. As he was older,at stores,lots to stimulate, he would not swallow properly and pools of sylivia would drain from his mouth. He did not really do much for the first 7 months of his life. Now he is 8 months old and just starting to progress. He is really delayed. Does anyone know if this is just caused by methadone.It is totally possible that birth mom did more drugs as well. He has very poor muscle control. When he sits he just folds in half and his face sits on the floor. Any information would be very much appreciated.

My foster baby was born prenatally exposed to methadone and he is just over 7 months old starting to fixate on an object at very close distances. his tracking was very wild and has calmed down. But I don't think he can see much beyond 2 1/2 to 3 feet. It is very sad as this is not his only challenge.

They are not perfectly normal healthy children. I have had one he high pitch cried for months and was easily over stimulated by touch and lights and stores. Excessive stiffness and arching.Really he did not meet many milestones until just recently and he is now 8 months old. It is very sad to see.

Actually, if the mother only takes methadone while pregnant most of the babies do not go to NICU nor go through withdrawal, some of them do. Babies born just on methadone are not irritable. If the mother smoked, drank alochol, or used other drugs then you are looking at withdrawal from those substances and most of the time the methadone gets blamed for it.

Thank you for your reply. I have a relationship with birth mom and would like to ask what else she was taking.

Katy, I have a daughter going through the same thing, what did it take to turn you around? I did want to ask you though; my new grandson was born addicted to methadone. He did fine at first but they had to start dosing him on the 4th day and then on the fifth day he was scoring in the 10 - 11 range so they started giving him opiates. My question is if methadone is to help people wean themselves off of opiates and my daughter supposedly hadn't been abusing opiates in the last 4 months then why would they go back to giving the baby opiates? That doesn't seem to make sense too me. Thanks and congrats on being brave enough and loving your babies enough to be there for them as the mom they want you to be! I know by watching my daughter that it wasn't easy.

Thanks and God Bless!

i agree with you on this one medman you are in no position to post things like that youe not a dr. and you shouldnt say that people will die and then say not to scare you thats just stupid...and nothing that you said will help ease anyones mind your an as****e

To the NICU nurse-I am on Methadone. I was addicted to pain pills because I am an overachiever who didnt have enough hours in the day, and the pills helped me be "superwoman". Yes, dumb idea, but we as humans are not perfect, you see. I am in college currently working torwards becoming an RN, just like you. I am sickened by you and your nasty post. Women like you should NOT be nurses. Your job is to CARE, not judge. And I cant imagine the storys of women who have had to deal with YOU while recieving care in your hospital. It sickens me that you decided for a career in nursing. A woman who goes into nursing usually does so because caring and nurturing is her strong point and gift in life. I know this is the case with me. I would NEVER EVER say some of the hurtful, judgemental, evil and idiotic things you posted. And that is why I am betting...you arent truly an RN at a NICU unit. And if indeed someone messed up and hired your horrid butt, GOD HELP the poor women that run accross you. You are miserable, and BE ASHAMED! You took an OATH as a nurse! TO HELP AND CARE! Grow up you old hag.

I started the methadone clinic to get sober and to stay sober. Unfortunately, I found out that I was pregnant shortly after starting the program. My initial reaction was to immediately quit dosing as I never in my life had imagined that I would ever be a drug addicted pregnant woman. However, I was advised that by quitting methadone I would be putting my unborn child at risk. I have never used methadone as a free high and I never once have abused any other medication while on the maintenance program. Throughout my entire pregnancy I was very closely monitored through the methadone clinic, as well as my own OBGYN and this included weekly drug testing. My son was born at 38 weeks and was considered a full-term baby, weighing in at 6lbs. 7 oz. Perhaps I was just lucky but my son did not experience any form of withdrawal what-so-ever and did not receive any type of medication to ease any "symptoms" or side-effects from my methadone maintenance. I now have a beautiful, healthy, and happy four-month old son who is my absolute world. I am still on methadone maintenance and am providing my child with a great life...one in which he never has to experience having a mother who is high out of her mind or to sick to function. To label individual's on methadone as irresponsible or uncaring is pathetic and only shows the level of ignorance that plagues society today. I regret to inform you that not all of us are looking to get a free high...especially considering that once you reach a level that is appropriate for your individual needs there is absolutely no "high" to talk of. Methadone does not provide its users with a sense of euphoria. Perhaps you should educate yourself more before you start blasting individuals who are simply seeking to live a lifestyle that is productive and free from the chains of addiction. 

P.S. I am not some uneducated "junkie" who is abusing the system to get free drugs. Not only am I a nurse by profession, I am also an attending college student who is working towards her degree in human services. I also have a six-year-old son and I am extremely active in his education - parents club, pta, soccer mom deal. I am also very active in my local community and am very well known for the volunteer work that I contribute to society. Seeing's how you want to blast addicts and portray yourself as the pillar of all that is right - what is it exactly that you do that makes you not only so wonderful, but also an expert in the field of methadone maintenance?

I also wanted to say to the mother who adopted the two children who were born addicted to methadone that current research indicates that there are in fact no long-term effects associated with the use of methadone during pregnancy. There are a number of studies that continue to show that methadone born children function physically  mentally, emotionally, and academically at the same level - or better - when compared to other children of the same age. 

I started the methadone clinic to get sober and to stay sober. Unfortunately, I found out that I was pregnant shortly after starting the program. My initial reaction was to immediately quit dosing as I never in my life had imagined that I would ever be a drug addicted pregnant woman. However, I was advised that by quitting methadone I would be putting my unborn child at risk. I have never used methadone as a free high and I never once have abused any other medication while on the maintenance program. Throughout my entire pregnancy I was very closely monitored through the methadone clinic, as well as my own OBGYN and this included weekly drug testing. My son was born at 38 weeks and was considered a full-term baby, weighing in at 6lbs. 7 oz. Perhaps I was just lucky but my son did not experience any form of withdrawal what-so-ever and did not receive any type of medication to ease any "symptoms" or side-effects from my methadone maintenance. I now have a beautiful, healthy, and happy four-month old son who is my absolute world. I am still on methadone maintenance and am providing my child with a great life...one in which he never has to experience having a mother who is high out of her mind or to sick to function. To label individual's on methadone as irresponsible or uncaring is pathetic and only shows the level of ignorance that plagues society today. I regret to inform you that not all of us are looking to get a free high...especially considering that once you reach a level that is appropriate for your individual needs there is absolutely no "high" to talk of. Methadone does not provide its users with a sense of euphoria. Perhaps you should educate yourself more before you start blasting individuals who are simply seeking to live a lifestyle that is productive and free from the chains of addiction.

Valentina wrote:

Guest wrote:

When did it become legal for women to get high, no matter how and born a child addicted to a drug?

Women sadly are using these clinics to get a free high, subject their unborn child to the malicious drug "methadone" and Protective Services can't take the child and convict the mother?

What happened to the law; you do drugs while your pregnant and your child is born addicted to drugs - We take your child and you go straight to jail!

No one knows for sure what the long term effects are for those children born addicted to methadone. The drug companies are not going to make any money if they tell people that their child or children may have mental, emotional, sychological or motor skills, so they tell everyone that methadone is ok for pregnant woment to take.

Those women getting that methadone are so out of it that they have no idea what is going on with their children because they sleep all the time, are always tired, have no appetite and basicly not in touch with reality.

It should be against the law and those clinics should be shut down permantly.

I know for a fact they those clinics will give methadone to anyone. My son's wife is a pill popper and she got pregnant, so she went to one of those clinics and lied to them, telling them that she was a heroin user and boom, she was excepted to the clinic.

When someone goes in to a methadone clinic all they have to do is say I'm addicted to heroin and no one at that clinic does any tests to see what drugs the person is on or using. Any other place that you go to for help automaticlly does multiple tests. So why don't the methadone clinics test to see exactly what drugs the person is using?

The problem with the methadone clinic's is this: By allowing pregnant women to go there they are not letting those women be responsible for their actions. Women who do drugs while pregnant should have their child taken away permanently and they should go to jail. If those clinics would not allow pregnant women to go there I believe there would be less women having babies born addicted. Those clinics just enable women to become pregnant even though they are on drugs.

I started the methadone clinic to get sober and to stay sober. Unfortunately, I found out that I was pregnant shortly after starting the program. My initial reaction was to immediately quit dosing as I never in my life had imagined that I would ever be a drug addicted pregnant woman. However, I was advised that by quitting methadone I would be putting my unborn child at risk. I have never used methadone as a free high and I never once have abused any other medication while on the maintenance program. Throughout my entire pregnancy I was very closely monitored through the methadone clinic, as well as my own OBGYN and this included weekly drug testing. My son was born at 38 weeks and was considered a full-term baby, weighing in at 6lbs. 7 oz. Perhaps I was just lucky but my son did not experience any form of withdrawal what-so-ever and did not receive any type of medication to ease any "symptoms" or side-effects from my methadone maintenance. I now have a beautiful, healthy, and happy four-month old son who is my absolute world. I am still on methadone maintenance and am providing my child with a great life...one in which he never has to experience having a mother who is high out of her mind or to sick to function. To label individual's on methadone as irresponsible or uncaring is pathetic and only shows the level of ignorance that plagues society today. I regret to inform you that not all of us are looking to get a free high...especially considering that once you reach a level that is appropriate for your individual needs there is absolutely no "high" to talk of. Methadone does not provide its users with a sense of euphoria. Perhaps you should educate yourself more before you start blasting individuals who are simply seeking to live a lifestyle that is productive and free from the chains of addiction.

as far as just walking into a methadone clinic and getting dosed...where does this clinic exist? i know that i had to go through some intense testing that included a lot of paperwork that asked about every little detail of my entire life and I also submitted urine and blood for drug testing, as well as testing for any diseases...it is unbelievable to me that in today's day and age when there are so many resources available for research to be done that there is still so much ignorance. it seems like some of you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, yet post messages and responses as though you are some kind of expert because you have an opinion on a topic. do your research before you start spewing off at the mouth, please!

I have a foster baby pre-exposed to methadone and cocaine as well.We have had to visit an opthalmologist because he has nystagmus.I was told by the doctor that it was indeed caused by the methadone.It is one of its' side effects.

my granddaughter was born 2 weeks early weighing 5 lbs 13 oz..Her mother was in a Rehad center when she went in Labor and she was taking Subutex and they baby developed withdraws 2 days after being born.The doctor put the baby on Meth to help with the withdraws and she was under a wonderful doctors care, H e weaned her of the Meth slowly and she is doing great, smiles all the time but real fussy at time.I worry about the long term affects I asked the Doctor in his yrs of practice do the babies grow up healty and he said he has seen babies grow up healthy many times but we just have to wait and see on my granddaughter.