Drug addicts should not be able to bring more children to the world. As a teacher who works with children born to substance abusers, I believe such mothers should be sterilized. It sounds cruel and politically incorrect, but having children who will be born with resulting cognitive and emotional disabilities, as my students are, then allowing these mothers to bear more children is even more cruel for the yet to be born innocent child.
116
How does the prognosis of these "opioid-dependent" babies compare to the legendary "crack" babies of the late 1980's? Will they feed the same kind of self-righteous campaigns against such transgressive behaviors?
22
The knee jerk reaction by hospitals and CPS to remove a baby from the mother almost immediately after birth has long term implications for bonding between mother and baby. I do believe that in the case of this mother, who was being treated by her physician during pregnancy, she was unfairly treated by CPS and the natural connection was broken and most likely will never recover fully. The emotional toll on the entire family, including the new role the grandparents play, is underestimated. A baby knows its mother from breastmilk to voice. Better to keep the mother and baby supervised and together for as long as possible.
30
There Just Babies! Why should precious babies have to suffer because of the mothers irresponsible choices. Mothers should understand that it's not about them anymore there is a human being growing inside of you. Whatever you put into your body is going directly to that baby body. The mother is supposed to protect her child . You can not protect your child if your directly harming your child. I think that the mothers are self centered not worried about the baby well being because if they were they would watch what the put into there body. The mother is supposed to keep the baby safe from drugs but instead they are putting the drugs in there bodies causing growing babies to need these drugs. The mothers quit one drug because its not as bad as another. Both of the drugs are bad both are addicting and both can harm the baby. The babies are becoming addicted to the drugs the mom puts in her body. I think that the mother should have heard child took away for a little bit. So that she can show herself as a fit mother that's not trying to harm the baby.
8
Teaching a baby that "when I am upset, no one cares for me and I find comfort with drugs (morphine drops)" instead of "when I am upset, someone cuddles me and I find comfort in relationships" seems utterly stupid.
39
The immutable Law of Cause and Effect is the only Law that actually adjudicates the actions of Man! Thus, an addictive drug should only be prescribed in a hospital setting, if at all, given that there could be alternative treatments. But this is capitalism where profit is the unquestioned foundation of actions. And these actions become consequences to be suffered by others which, in one form or another, becomes a mode for profit to others downstream in the allopathic management of our systemic crossed purposes.
However, this same profit to consequence to profit scenario is being played out throughout our cultural system in many other expressions. The question is whether those who benefit from this matrix of systemic crossed purposes believe that the system can continue to accommodate this expanding pathology?
However, this same profit to consequence to profit scenario is being played out throughout our cultural system in many other expressions. The question is whether those who benefit from this matrix of systemic crossed purposes believe that the system can continue to accommodate this expanding pathology?
8
I really like to point out to all that not all mothers whose babies experience NAS are active addicts. Some have chronic pain conditions that require them to take opioids. Others are mothers in recovery that are being maintained on methadone or buprenorphine. Some have years or even decades free of addiction. These mothers usually live normal, productive lives. Many have careers, are married, own homes in the suburbs and spend their days shuffling kids to different activities, just like their neighbors.
There is no reason at all to not allow these mothers to not take their babies home to raise them like any other parent. It's not in the best interest of the babies or society.
Mothers in active addiction are of course not capable of parenting properly but even in these cases decisions have to be made on a case by case basis. If the mother is willing to enter inpatient treatment with the baby or a similar plan is possible allowing the mother to retain custody under close supervision should be possible. Not all addicts are equal.
There is no reason at all to not allow these mothers to not take their babies home to raise them like any other parent. It's not in the best interest of the babies or society.
Mothers in active addiction are of course not capable of parenting properly but even in these cases decisions have to be made on a case by case basis. If the mother is willing to enter inpatient treatment with the baby or a similar plan is possible allowing the mother to retain custody under close supervision should be possible. Not all addicts are equal.
32
As much as I support keeping babies with NAS in dark, quiet rooms with care from their mothers I strongly question the humaneness of doing this as an alternative to treatment with medication. I understand that it's quicker and cheaper to avoid a taper, but is it really best for the baby? Less days in the hospital doesn't equal success.
As a former opiate addict who has been through opiate withdrawal several times I know how excruciating it is without the proper medication. Sure, it's quicker to go cold turkey but it's not better. Unmedicated withdrawal is horrific but with proper treatment it's bearable, even comfortable. The longer the taper the less intense the symptoms are. Rushing the taper to get the baby out of the hospital faster seems like focusing on the wrong priority.
I don't understand why these babies can't be kept in the proper environment with their mothers while also being treated with a taper medication and other supportive care. It can't be impossible.
As a former opiate addict who has been through opiate withdrawal several times I know how excruciating it is without the proper medication. Sure, it's quicker to go cold turkey but it's not better. Unmedicated withdrawal is horrific but with proper treatment it's bearable, even comfortable. The longer the taper the less intense the symptoms are. Rushing the taper to get the baby out of the hospital faster seems like focusing on the wrong priority.
I don't understand why these babies can't be kept in the proper environment with their mothers while also being treated with a taper medication and other supportive care. It can't be impossible.
37
This article is a testament to the humanity in us all. When a child is in distress for any reason, it seeks comfort and reassurance, preferably from a parent.
I understood (perhaps incorrectly) that treatment for the parent would be part of the arrangement with the hospital where they would be together. We continue to advance the outside forces (treatment by interventional medicine but the intrafamily forces seem to have a major role in healing the bodies of both mother and child as well. More study needed.
I understood (perhaps incorrectly) that treatment for the parent would be part of the arrangement with the hospital where they would be together. We continue to advance the outside forces (treatment by interventional medicine but the intrafamily forces seem to have a major role in healing the bodies of both mother and child as well. More study needed.
7
Have you ever seen 'the system,' i.e. the foster-care system. Unless a kid's parents are ax murderers, he's better off with the biological family. Seriously.
37
The comments here are heartfelt and very considerate of the moms. These families need a lot of support and are often marginalized in these situations. Marginalization is the worst response and probably was the initial cause of some of the seeking and abusing of drugs in the first place. I spent 9 months working in an upstate NY hospital caring for newborns; many of them withdrawing babies. In most every case, moms wanted the chance to succeed and showed amazing courage in handling their own issues while caring for their newborns. It is indeed heartbreaking watching these one and two day olds with what appears to be intense pain-pain that is uncovered when they are separated from the pain medication that mom was taking. You could feel their struggle, their tension, their head to toe tight musculature through their onesies. We would take turns holding, swaddling, and calming these infants while their mothers would finally take a much needed rest. Some of them needed specialty care and others resolved their withdrawal more easily. Drug addiction and neonatal withdrawal is a problem that is going to need continued compassion, honesty, and real solutions-three things that our health care destroying senators can never understand.
52
I'm not sure a mom addicted to whatever drug will find motherhood motivating enough to stay clean and sober. addiction is a horrendous obstacle to overcome.
But I'm sure separating newborns from their mom is NEVER a solution.
That innocent baby is suffering withdrawals and lack of motherly touch, feeding, comforting.
How is this appropriate at all?
Our society has so much to learn! we still operate as though we lived in the 1800s in so many ways.
We do not need to have citizens armed to the teeth, we do not need a school system based on an agricultural society, we do not need to punish addicts instead of offering treatment ...
such a sad, sad article.
And kuddos to those who developed the Eat-Sleep-and-be-consoled system.
we haven't lost all sense of compassion .... yet.
But I'm sure separating newborns from their mom is NEVER a solution.
That innocent baby is suffering withdrawals and lack of motherly touch, feeding, comforting.
How is this appropriate at all?
Our society has so much to learn! we still operate as though we lived in the 1800s in so many ways.
We do not need to have citizens armed to the teeth, we do not need a school system based on an agricultural society, we do not need to punish addicts instead of offering treatment ...
such a sad, sad article.
And kuddos to those who developed the Eat-Sleep-and-be-consoled system.
we haven't lost all sense of compassion .... yet.
32
No baby should be taken away solely because the mother, while pregnant, was prescribed and was taking buprenorphine for opioid maintenance. This article brings to light the fact that we need a clear path to maintenance of custody for women suffering from addiction who are doing the right thing. The system is telling her (or seems to be) that she needs to get off buprenorphine to get her baby back (even if that's not true), yet the medical recommendation for such a mother is to stay on buprenorphine to prevent relapse on illegal opioids. We are doing women and babies a huge disservice by making the law & child protective services function in opposition to medical advice. Three cheers for the spotlight on rooming-in, which should be the standard for all babies who can survive outside the NICU - how wonderful that it works even for babies coping with opioid withdrawal. People not struggling with addiction need to lend their voices to advocate for humane interventions like rooming-in in such situations, as no one in power seems to value these mothers' own voices due to the ongoing impact of stigma.
33
These chilsewn and babies are the victims of the opiod crisis which has hit rural America in extreme proportions. More needs to be done particularly in the area of prevention, pre-natal care and the reasons for the opiod crisis to begin with.
9
By the way, Uncle Mitch (McConnell) is preparing a new recipe to treat his Kentucky constituents, like this mother. Just wait.
As someone directly involved in caring for these type of babies, it drives me nuts when the nursing staff automatically rejected breast milk or breastfeeding by these mothers. The best way to wean off the drugs is to be breastfed by the mother who still has some drug left in her system, instead of dropping Morphine in the baby's mouth. But common sense is very rare, and CPS folks are almost always work at a spinal level, and don't want to take even the slightest risk. The victims are: the baby, the mother and the taxpayer who's footing the bill for the foster care.
As someone directly involved in caring for these type of babies, it drives me nuts when the nursing staff automatically rejected breast milk or breastfeeding by these mothers. The best way to wean off the drugs is to be breastfed by the mother who still has some drug left in her system, instead of dropping Morphine in the baby's mouth. But common sense is very rare, and CPS folks are almost always work at a spinal level, and don't want to take even the slightest risk. The victims are: the baby, the mother and the taxpayer who's footing the bill for the foster care.
52
We need free and accessible women's health including contraceptives, abortions and health screenings. Period.
39
Someone posted:
So many harsh words of judgment. Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure. Yes, bad choices are made, but nobody sets out to be a drug addict. Do we say the same terrible things about smokers who get lung cancer, or people who eat only junk food when they become diabetic?
Breaking the law to use illicit drugs is a moral failure. An intention one at that.
So many harsh words of judgment. Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure. Yes, bad choices are made, but nobody sets out to be a drug addict. Do we say the same terrible things about smokers who get lung cancer, or people who eat only junk food when they become diabetic?
Breaking the law to use illicit drugs is a moral failure. An intention one at that.
11
Addiction per se is not a disease. You choose to take crack, or abuse drugs, you the individual make that choice. You don't choose to get cancer. Big difference.
31
A little sad to think that for the rest of this baby's life, whenever someone googles her distinctive name, they will know she started out as opioid addicted. That seems like another of the many strikes against her.
53
Nicole, I was thinking the same thing. Both of this woman's children are named in this article - why? Their names add nothing to the points in this article.
Doesn't this violate Federal medical privacy law?
Doesn't this violate Federal medical privacy law?
32
Doy1, no it doesn't violate HIPAA. It only applies to medical personnel, not parents.
7
A difficult situation - for the innocent children and for society - and one that raises conflicting emotions and reactions.
Do we focus on punishing the mother - or on what is best for the child? How do we define what is "best"?
The various studies cited in this article show that the infants do much better, with much shorter hospital stays and far less need for drugs - and at far lower cost - when they're NOT separated from their mothers.
So how about we heed the evidence and do what has been demonstrated to work - for the sake of these innocent babies?
We can still punish the mothers later, if they don't stay clean.
And how about we also require these women to accept long term birth control methods such as Norplant and IUDs? While also strongly encouraging - not forcing - them to accept tubal ligation?
This is why we need Planned Parenthood - and why we need our government to fund its vital health care and contraceptive services via Medicaid. For those vilifying PP because some of its clinics provide abortions - albeit a tiny percentage of the essential services it provides - by law NO Federal funding may be used for abortions. It's called the Hyde Amendment. So get over it.
Better to spend taxpayer dollars on preventing these pregnancies - than the thousands-fold greater costs in money and to society when these unfortunate children are born and for the rest of their lives.
Do we focus on punishing the mother - or on what is best for the child? How do we define what is "best"?
The various studies cited in this article show that the infants do much better, with much shorter hospital stays and far less need for drugs - and at far lower cost - when they're NOT separated from their mothers.
So how about we heed the evidence and do what has been demonstrated to work - for the sake of these innocent babies?
We can still punish the mothers later, if they don't stay clean.
And how about we also require these women to accept long term birth control methods such as Norplant and IUDs? While also strongly encouraging - not forcing - them to accept tubal ligation?
This is why we need Planned Parenthood - and why we need our government to fund its vital health care and contraceptive services via Medicaid. For those vilifying PP because some of its clinics provide abortions - albeit a tiny percentage of the essential services it provides - by law NO Federal funding may be used for abortions. It's called the Hyde Amendment. So get over it.
Better to spend taxpayer dollars on preventing these pregnancies - than the thousands-fold greater costs in money and to society when these unfortunate children are born and for the rest of their lives.
24
I get it: Having an unending supply of sympathy and understanding for opioid addicts is the social cause of the moment. However, I'm curious as to how defenders of these mothers would react if they saw a pregnant woman smoking or drinking a beer!
29
CUDDLING, massage and comforting therapy are demonstrably superior to rushing opioid dependent neonates to another hospital where they are separated from their mothers. Infant-maternal bonding is such a powerful process that it helps opioid addicted infants heal far more rapidly than those who lose contact with their mothers. Thus, it is logical to place the needs of the infant ahead of the justice system's time line to administer severe punishment. But that's where Sessions comes into the mix, as he has demanded the most stringent possible punishments for all found guilty for whatever reason. Nobody ever accused him of being empathic, reasonable or even logical, leave alone decent. The question is, then, who's the bigger infant, Sessions or the opioid addicted neonate? That said, mothers must be monitored closely. I did some research about drug dependent mothers caring for their infants. Some of them told me that they shared their methodone doses with their infants by putting part of it into the baby's formula. We must be mindful of the severe disturbances the mothers have as well, so they can be treated along with their infants. Otherwise we'll have unsupervised mothers slipping drugs into their babies' formula bottles. History does repeat itself.
9
Under only very very rare circumstances is it not the best thing for an infant to be with their mother/voice/skin they have been with their first nine months of life in utero. If studies indicate this is best for new borns, why don't we participate in this best practice?
Also it is hard to understand 'charities' that provide support for parents to stay with their children discriminate between 'kinds' of parents. Maybe the Ronald McDonald houses that are for families who have children in the hospital, should kick in the necessary support. What a disgrace and awful way to start out life. Very sad state of affairs.
Also it is hard to understand 'charities' that provide support for parents to stay with their children discriminate between 'kinds' of parents. Maybe the Ronald McDonald houses that are for families who have children in the hospital, should kick in the necessary support. What a disgrace and awful way to start out life. Very sad state of affairs.
13
There are many examples, in the past 40 to 50 years, of medications approved for use during pregnancy which really weren't safe for use. The mothers are divided into good and bad groups, though. The good ones took an SSRI, now known to be harmful in pregnancy, or something else, back in the 60s, that caused severe birth defects. They were innocent, because they weren't drug addicts. This mother was a drug addict, admitted it, and took a recommended medication to help with withdrawal. It harmed her child, despite being medically recommended. Now she's evil, and doesn't deserve to even see her child. People need to stop their judgmental thinking. All illnesses are physical, including mental illnesses. Perhaps she needs intensive social support, but she is no less ill than a mother with cancer.
15
Just for the record, there were no SSRIs on the market in the 60s. Or the 70s.
7
It should be mentioned that any harm from opioids on a newborn is short term. Opioids have not shown to have any long term effects on babies born to opioid dependent mothers.
4
She was doing drugs with a toddler at home. I'm going to guess she received assistance like Medicaid. I'm glad she seems motivated to get better, but this is simple: to receive government benefits an IUD is mandatory. That would prevent a lot of suffering.
45
Her parents has custody of her toddler.
5
Mandatory paternity testing and aggressive legal action against men who refuse to pay child support would go a long way towards reducing situations like this.
I think we can safely assume that even the most educationally disadvantaged man can understand 25 cents for a condom is better then child support for 18 years.
I think we can safely assume that even the most educationally disadvantaged man can understand 25 cents for a condom is better then child support for 18 years.
22
A powerful argument in favor of increased funding for contraception and abortion services as well as decreasing the culture of shame and stigma surrounding decisions not to carry pregnancies to term.
18
Saddest thing I've read in a long time. No clear solution but birth control has got to be at the top of the list for any healthcare provider treating women with addiction problems. The long road of struggle only gets worse now - for two lives not just one.
29
What is your opinion on parents with genetic conditions that are likely to pass them on to their children, sometimes leading to lifelong disability and painful treatments? Should they also be pushed to use birth control or have abortions?
4
I treat opiate addicts with buprenorphine at a community clinic in NY. I have educational material about birth control options and urge my female patients to follow up with birth control while on buprenorphine. Many already have children who are in foster care or living with other family members. We have a NP and a group of social workers who treats these children, as many have emotional issues stemming from living in chaotic conditions without stability, as well as neurological issues stemming from in-utero exposure to various drugs.
I have had patients addicted to opiates who do awful things to their children in the pursuit getting high. One of my patients broke her arm and taught her 10 year old daughter how to administer IV heroin to her mother. It is essential to get addicted women on birth control to prevent generational dysfunction.
I have had patients addicted to opiates who do awful things to their children in the pursuit getting high. One of my patients broke her arm and taught her 10 year old daughter how to administer IV heroin to her mother. It is essential to get addicted women on birth control to prevent generational dysfunction.
60
I read this article with great interest. The mother here is trying to do the right thing and is very much a sympathetic character. That makes it easy to question why her custody was snagged and why she had limited time in the NICU.
Now I'd love to see a follow-up article covering a different kind of case, the kind of case I saw several times during a relatively brief NICU rotation in western Virginia when I was a medical student. This is the case of the actively using mother who rarely visits her child, places herself first and and harasses the ob staff for more narcotics to address postpartum discomfort. Studies have shown that opioid-addicted parents are less empathetic to their children and less able to take are of their needs. I think most people would agree that CPS would be right to take the child away in that situation. So then, can we see a story about what happens in that case? Do they go to a dwindling pool of foster parents? Does baby then do better with foster parents than with mom? How should we address those cases where the best treatment, mom, really isn't there?
Great job from the NYTimes. This is a very important topic and we need to think of how to address this as a society, particularly one that opposes universal health care but simultaneously doesn't have enough loving foster families.
Now I'd love to see a follow-up article covering a different kind of case, the kind of case I saw several times during a relatively brief NICU rotation in western Virginia when I was a medical student. This is the case of the actively using mother who rarely visits her child, places herself first and and harasses the ob staff for more narcotics to address postpartum discomfort. Studies have shown that opioid-addicted parents are less empathetic to their children and less able to take are of their needs. I think most people would agree that CPS would be right to take the child away in that situation. So then, can we see a story about what happens in that case? Do they go to a dwindling pool of foster parents? Does baby then do better with foster parents than with mom? How should we address those cases where the best treatment, mom, really isn't there?
Great job from the NYTimes. This is a very important topic and we need to think of how to address this as a society, particularly one that opposes universal health care but simultaneously doesn't have enough loving foster families.
71
I feel like the "right thing" to do when you're on coke and opioids and find out you're pregnant is to have an abortion. Yes, that is an awful thing to say. But even in a hospital perfectly designed for infants in withdrawal, this is a curse with a long tail on a baby that did nothing to deserve it.
32
It was the state, not medical staff, that severed this new mom’s custody when she gave birth to her second addicted child. We are not privy to all the reasons. It is a legal and not a medical decision.
It dos not take a lot to train some staff in every community hospital with maternity unit and set aside a darkened room in the pediatric unit with a couple of cribs to treat the children in their own communities. The children should be given needed medication immediately, not after they begin withdrawal and require a med flight.
My fear is that the shortened treatment time (during which babies do indeed still suffer) means that a challenging baby is going home with to an overwhelmed mother just a week or so after birth. With all the dollars saved, there should be follow up home visits for several months to support those moms who are able to care for their newborns.
It dos not take a lot to train some staff in every community hospital with maternity unit and set aside a darkened room in the pediatric unit with a couple of cribs to treat the children in their own communities. The children should be given needed medication immediately, not after they begin withdrawal and require a med flight.
My fear is that the shortened treatment time (during which babies do indeed still suffer) means that a challenging baby is going home with to an overwhelmed mother just a week or so after birth. With all the dollars saved, there should be follow up home visits for several months to support those moms who are able to care for their newborns.
19
It was the set up of the medical community- the fact that the baby was moved elsewhere to a place where the mom can't stay - that separated mother and baby while the baby was detoxing which is what this article is about.
2
I found this article very interesting As I plan to go into the neonatal field of nursing in the near future. Reading this gave me some examples of what all neonatal nurses do. Seeing the numerous points of view, the mother, the nurses, the doctors, etc. It was particularly interesting to hear about the process that the nurses and doctors go through while caring for the infants during the withdrawal phase.
7
We don't need more studies to prove that infants suffer without "mothering" and that most of the time this should be coming from the mother - a single mother figure, if you will.
Who decided that the optimum way to treat infants in distress was in huge nurseries??? do they have any background in child development? who is going to pick up the pieces when these babies fail to thrive, and miss developmental milestones, and possibly will be unable to form trusting relationships, not because of the addictive substance but because of maternal deprivation? The good news is apparently that someone woke up.
Mothers who are addicted, require support and a lot of followup, with in home services, and monitoring to see that they do provide care. Their own infants will cause more stress than most infants, and this is to a group of women who were used to handling stress with drugs. We do this for the children, if not for the mothers as well; if we can't help most of the mothers, we will fail most of the children. Some won't make it, and others will have to take their place, whether relatives of foster parents. So if a child does require hospitalization, that relative or foster parent has to be involved daily from that point, not after discharge.
Who decided that the optimum way to treat infants in distress was in huge nurseries??? do they have any background in child development? who is going to pick up the pieces when these babies fail to thrive, and miss developmental milestones, and possibly will be unable to form trusting relationships, not because of the addictive substance but because of maternal deprivation? The good news is apparently that someone woke up.
Mothers who are addicted, require support and a lot of followup, with in home services, and monitoring to see that they do provide care. Their own infants will cause more stress than most infants, and this is to a group of women who were used to handling stress with drugs. We do this for the children, if not for the mothers as well; if we can't help most of the mothers, we will fail most of the children. Some won't make it, and others will have to take their place, whether relatives of foster parents. So if a child does require hospitalization, that relative or foster parent has to be involved daily from that point, not after discharge.
13
The idea of treatment for pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders is not new. California has had a system of residential and outpatient treatment programs since the early 90s. I worked as both a clinician and program manager for many years in several different treatment facilities. We found that keeping the infant with the mother in a supervised environment facilitated attachment and led to better long term outcomes. While prenatal exposure to opioids is a serious problem , the long lasting effects of inutero exposure to alcohol are far more severe, causing permanent brain damage. I can't help but wonder if the woman had been drinking and not taking a prescribed medication if she would have kept custody of her child?
21
Treatment must be better funded, as must health care. Addiction is a health problem that all too often leads to theft and burglary, car accidents, child and domestic abuse and neglect and other ills I see daily when I cover court cases as a reporter. Sadly, treatment often does not work the first time or the second or the third and insurance only covers one stay of a certain number of days duration. On the other hand, I am not optimistic about the life chances of kids like this poor baby. All too often, they are passed around from one unsuitable relative to another, yo yoing home to Mom and then yanked away again, becoming more and more damaged until they, too, are addicts in front of a judge on a theft or possession charge. I would favor foster care leading to adoption in a two parent, unrelated family and no contact whatsoever with birth families for many of these babies. Maybe it would break the cycle for some of them.
10
PS: For all those advocating adoption as the best solution: maybe it is, in an ideal world - but this is not an ideal world.
Yes, there are many thousands of people who are seeking to adopt children - but let's be honest - how many actually want to adopt babies with the severe medical and likely long term developmental, psychological and behavioral challenges these children have or will have?
I personally know people who adopted overseas precisely because so many of the infants available for adoption here are born to addicts.
So often, these children spend their lives bounced from one foster home to another, until they end up in group homes for troubled teens - and/or aged out and on the streets.
The best solution is prevention: contraception. Caseworkers, police, courts, treatment providers, healthcare providers - all need to have a part in requiring and providing long term contraception - and offering tubal ligation.
Yes, there are many thousands of people who are seeking to adopt children - but let's be honest - how many actually want to adopt babies with the severe medical and likely long term developmental, psychological and behavioral challenges these children have or will have?
I personally know people who adopted overseas precisely because so many of the infants available for adoption here are born to addicts.
So often, these children spend their lives bounced from one foster home to another, until they end up in group homes for troubled teens - and/or aged out and on the streets.
The best solution is prevention: contraception. Caseworkers, police, courts, treatment providers, healthcare providers - all need to have a part in requiring and providing long term contraception - and offering tubal ligation.
55
Leaving them with their bio parents doesn't always lead to a great outcome either. I have read court cases that break my heart. One 7 year old kid was beaten with a belt by his addict mother, who also had left him home alone with his baby brother while she went out to get high. The kid was taken away and given to his drunken father, who beat his girlfriend in front of the child and threatened the boy. Now the boy is living with his grandmother, who has a criminal record for dealing meth. Tell me what chance that little boy has now. He would have been better off in a decent foster home at an earlier age, before the system allowed so much damage to be done by his bio family.
7
A permissive, me-oriented culture is at the root of these problems. Some of our behaviors need to be publicly judged and not "empathetically" excused. These Behaviors undermine the family which is and always has been the source of healthy life. 1. Single parenting. 2. Failure of men to raise the children they father. 3. Divorce. 4. Addictive drug use. 4. Abortion. Etc. Until family is given the respect it deserves, our society will continue to unravel.
17
I'm am not religious but agree with you and think religion does a better job of promoting these positive behaviors among most people.
5
Newsflash-families are not necessarily healthy most incredibly unhealthy. What is needed are free and accessible services for women to receive all women's health services including contraception, abortion and health screenings. We also need better contraceptives for men. Someday hopefully we will see "families" occur not out of unhappy accident but by design from stable, capable people who truly like children and want to raise them.
22
The opioid epidemic is the result of the widespread promotion of these drugs by a couple of pharmaceutical companies. I'm sorry, you couldn't be more wrong in blaming the victims as being not quite up to your moral standards.
I suggest you read the book Dreamland by Sam Quinones for the history of this national crisis.
I suggest you read the book Dreamland by Sam Quinones for the history of this national crisis.
12
No. if the child is safe, this is a good time for Mom and baby to bond. It can be an impetus for Mom to get clean.
12
My husband and I were foster parents for several years and took care of children who were born drug addicted. We were supportive of the parents but were also willing to adopt if need be. Time and time again the children were reunited with their parent and then returned to foster care. The back and forth takes a terrible toll on the children. We had high hopes that the last mom would make it. We kept in touch with play dates and supportive phone calls after reunification. Then mom stopped returning our calls and texts. The cops found her six months later, high and the kids were in terrible conditions and now non-verbal. Overcoming addition is hard. Overcoming addition with no job and small children to care for is impossible for most. While I have empathy for the parents, we need to make the children the first priority. Parents who have a child born addicted should have their rights terminated within 30 days unless they can overcome a presumption that they are unfit.
92
I am uncomfortable with some of the language in this article. As a physician in the NICU, I don't perceive my neonatal withdrawal infants as "filling up beds intended" for others with more legitimate or important needs, like heart defects. No infant is denied care, even if we do have to put in work to find placements for all. When it comes to infants in need, I think it is very dangerous to start speaking of some as more deserving than others, and especially unfair to negatively label babies born with opiate exposure, a condition already fraught with societal judgement. I'm disappointed to see these babies presented here as problems, rather than innocents deserving of compassion.
134
MRD -- I had the same uncomfortable feeling. The language in this article made me angry, to be honest. That infant/child who is born addicted is in no way, shape, or form any less deserving of complete care than a child born with a heart defect, etc. They are equally innocent. That baby born addicted had no more of a choice with its birth problems than the child born with some other genetic illness or defect. They each have very serious problems from birth and will each struggle with serious health conditions probably for the rest of their lives. I don't understand how the serious health problems of a baby born with opiod withdrawal (and as detailed in this article) would be considered any less serious and life-threatening as another infant born with a genetic defect, etc.
14
one day you will have to decide which child will have to die the opioid with drawl or the pneumonia patient . Are you ready for that decision or will a court decide for you?
1
FYI, opiate withdrawal, even in infants, is not fatal.
4
This seems obvious to me: the baby needs his or her mother, and the mother needs her baby as her best motivation to stay clear of drugs. Keeping them together should definitely be, and probably is, the first consideration. Since each case is different, the decisions should be made by the doctors, not by bureaucrats. This is a strictly medical issue.
8
You are very wrong. Some addict-mothers have little interest in their children, and choose pursuit of drugs over child-rearing. As a physician treating opiate addicts, I have seen awful cases of child neglect and abuse at the hands of addicts. I have the phone number for Childrens Protective Services on speed dial.
19
As a teacher, I see the repercussions of horrible parents every single day. My heart breaks for the children who have no say in who takes them home from the hospital.
But if the mother is not there to deal with the baby's suffering, the necessary bond between mother and child will never form. The withdrawing babies should be left in the room with their mothers where their mothers hear their cries, and their mothers should be taught how to respond (under supervision). The bond formed in those first few days is crucial.
In our rush to be do-gooders, we often do harm. Free lunch, free breakfast, free school supplies, etc all seem like really good ideas, but when we lighten the burden of parenting, the bond between parent and child weakens. Parents become less engaged when the state takes over. If you don't believe me, become an urban teacher for 15 years and then we can talk.
We've been handing out cash and rent and food stamps and "help" for generations and the underclass is growing--and becoming more resentful, entitled, and destructive.
But if the mother is not there to deal with the baby's suffering, the necessary bond between mother and child will never form. The withdrawing babies should be left in the room with their mothers where their mothers hear their cries, and their mothers should be taught how to respond (under supervision). The bond formed in those first few days is crucial.
In our rush to be do-gooders, we often do harm. Free lunch, free breakfast, free school supplies, etc all seem like really good ideas, but when we lighten the burden of parenting, the bond between parent and child weakens. Parents become less engaged when the state takes over. If you don't believe me, become an urban teacher for 15 years and then we can talk.
We've been handing out cash and rent and food stamps and "help" for generations and the underclass is growing--and becoming more resentful, entitled, and destructive.
42
If this is your attitude toward your students, perhaps you should seek a teaching position in a private school or a public school in an affluent suburb - or maybe another field altogether.
Regardless of how you feel about the parents, feeding children who would otherwise go hungry is a good thing.
Regardless of how you feel about the parents, feeding children who would otherwise go hungry is a good thing.
16
People with no means and little opportunity can become resentful and entitled but most certainly they become destructive-self destructive. Most of the parents you see who are "horrible" did not have the advantages you've had in education and career. Instead of suggesting, from your perch, that someone with 15 years of teaching experience is the only one who you would listen to why not consider trying a life of true poverty with dependents for 15 years and then get back to us all about how that's going for you?
9
doy1--Feeding the children makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, but it disengages the parent from their own child's needs. It breaks down bonds between parent and child.
And then the do-gooders wonder why kids turn to gangs/drugs and other substitutes for familial love.
My brother lives in rural Mexico. The people are dirt-poor. The school does not serve lunch, so the mothers line up outside at lunchtime with lunches for their children. The community expects parents to care for their own children. The children benefit because the community expectations teach parents how to parent.
And then the do-gooders wonder why kids turn to gangs/drugs and other substitutes for familial love.
My brother lives in rural Mexico. The people are dirt-poor. The school does not serve lunch, so the mothers line up outside at lunchtime with lunches for their children. The community expects parents to care for their own children. The children benefit because the community expectations teach parents how to parent.
13
The mother and child bond cannot be replaced. Addiction is an illness, not a crime.
21
Child neglect and abuse are crimes. Addict mothers are far more likely to engage in child neglect and must be carefully monitored to prevent harm to the children.
14
Recidivism rates for drug abusers are about 50% - you are comfortable taking that type of risk with a newborn?
Or you have a good method for determining which 50% is which?
Or you have a good method for determining which 50% is which?
11
What about the father? Why is there no place in the table for him? Winnicott often implied that behind every good enough mother was the good enough father supporting her along--so she could be good enough. Seriously--where is Jay'la's father. I don't suppose he'll even give her financial support.
But it doesn't matter. Soon even those users with some modicum of skills won't be able to get birth control.
But it doesn't matter. Soon even those users with some modicum of skills won't be able to get birth control.
1
I'm going to be very politically incorrect. Why is this woman not encouraged to have her tubes tied? I ache for the victims of these parents. I'm a nurse and I've seen the torture these babies go through. And, when they go back to mom, it isn't an easy ride and it won't be a happy child.
96
The right wing has to get past its fetishizing of fertilized eggs and quit picking on Planned Parenthood for providing contraception and education. It has real world consequences when good policy and sound medical practice is replaced by ideology. Get yourselves to heaven some other way.
They have spent decades demonizing the decision not to be a parent even though some folks are too young, too broke, too sick, too addicted to raise a healthy child.
who pays here? the kid pays.
They have spent decades demonizing the decision not to be a parent even though some folks are too young, too broke, too sick, too addicted to raise a healthy child.
who pays here? the kid pays.
21
Let's face it, even without opioid addiction, we are hardly talking Mother of the Year here. What a life for these poor kids and millions more pumped out thoughtlessly each and every year. I spent more time selecting what dog food to buy for my rescue pups than these people sepnd determining whether or not to breed another human being. So tired of our planet and our society being destroyed by willy-nilly breeding.
13
This woman is doing the best she can under a doctor's care to be a good mother and change her path. I'm horrified and saddened by the comments that say "lock her up". Opioid addiction typically begins by doctor's prescriptions without proper oversight and pain management. Go to the root to stop the growing addiction problem and provide support and care for the mothers and babies. It's not one or the other.
And it you think that the baby would be better off in foster care than with the birth mother who wants the child, think again. There is a shortage of foster parents and even fewer who are good nurturing trained caretakers. In California, you actually are required to have many more hours of training to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) than a full time foster parent!
And it you think that the baby would be better off in foster care than with the birth mother who wants the child, think again. There is a shortage of foster parents and even fewer who are good nurturing trained caretakers. In California, you actually are required to have many more hours of training to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) than a full time foster parent!
15
Thank you for pointing out the fact that opioid addiction begins at the level of the physician, and the best way to stop creating new addicts is to restrict physician's rights to prescribe opioids. The right to prescribe narcotics should be HEAVILY regulated by the American Board of Medical Specialties, but that would mean treating MDs like people, not all-powerful gods. A physician will never admit that he/she has created an addict. The strongest approach would be to restrict the specialties, medical indications, number of pills, and ability to refill such prescriptions. Another approach would be to convince insurance companies not to cover narcotic prescriptions - they might actually go for that because it saves them money. Another approach would be to warn people against accepting narcotic prescriptions if they are capable of tolerating pain. Most pains are transient and are the result of injury. If women can give birth without getting an oxy prescription, ask yourself if you can handle your injury without narcotics. When you're done healing, you won't have to cruise the streets for heroin to get your opioid fix.
3
@Jessica, you're regurgitating a media-driven myth. Only a small percentage of opioid addicts begin with prescription opioids legitimately prescribed by a doctor--less than 10%, likely much less.
--JHU MPH
--JHU MPH
12
I want to feel compassion for these mothers, but I can't.
32
There are no qualifications for simple parenthood beyond sexual maturity. In a society in which the rights of biological parents are held to be more sacred than the rights of children to be treated well it is the child who wll be sacrificed- to a parent's addictions, or to a parent's religious objections to medical care or education.
20
@Jennifer
I want to feel compassion for you ...and I do.
I want to feel compassion for you ...and I do.
17
My compassion is for the drug addicted infants.
21
Am I the only one here who is reminded of the discussions surrounding crack-babies? Everyone was encouraged to go to the hospitals and cuddle the babies. There was an outcry to take them away from their mothers. I do recall some discussions about the mothers keeping the children, but very few and far between.
I think that we need to check our privilege. The narrative around crack babies almost always featured a black mother and her child or children. The opioid epidemic is hitting white communities hard. We need also to be mindful of how the issue of race is informing this discussion.
I think that we need to check our privilege. The narrative around crack babies almost always featured a black mother and her child or children. The opioid epidemic is hitting white communities hard. We need also to be mindful of how the issue of race is informing this discussion.
24
I'm mindful. Now can those concerned focus on what's best for the kid in the short and long term?
3
Everyone gets "privilege" but the kids. Parents can deny their children healthcare or education due to "religion." Why not raise them in a drug abusing environment? This is not about race or even social class; this is about our valuing the rights of dangerous parents over the safety of children. The species is devolving from Homo Sapiens Sapiens into Homo Antisapiens.
6
This is why we make no progress on health care quality and cost. The left will argue that this means addict mom's should keep their babies and the right will moralize about addicts. The healthcare answer is that Mom's should have the both right and obligation to stay with their baby until drug withdrawal is over, if that's what the baby needs. Whether addicted Mom's can then keep custody should be a separate issue.
21
This is not a political look left vs. right issue.
3
I'd have thought the baby is not at risk of abuse when in a public hospital under the watchful eye of staff 24/7.
The problem would be when the drug addict leaves treatment and is unsupervised.
Children of drug addicts are in danger of being abused as the drug addict is not capable of protecting her child from all the predators looking to exploit someone whose in a vulnerable position, when a drug addict will do anything to get drugs to feed their habit.
Don't forget babies can't talk or tell anyone they are being abused.
The problem would be when the drug addict leaves treatment and is unsupervised.
Children of drug addicts are in danger of being abused as the drug addict is not capable of protecting her child from all the predators looking to exploit someone whose in a vulnerable position, when a drug addict will do anything to get drugs to feed their habit.
Don't forget babies can't talk or tell anyone they are being abused.
67
I don't think anyone is advocating sending babies home with mothers in active addiction. That is a recipe for disaster. But mothers in recovery, like the mother in the story who is being treated with buprenorphine, are fully capable of being good parents.
4
Send 'em to Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump and see if they'll adopt these kids! The backwards people of Kentucky voted for these clowns, and the people of Kentucky don't get a drop of sympathy for me. May they self-destruct at as fast a rate as possible.
23
What a terrible thing to wish upon these infants, who had no choice in who their parents were.
3
Look back to go forward is a continual lesson for them that ignore.
Crack drug issues affect a group of people that some of the political spectrum are willing to let live in pain; this "new" Opioid is in many ways the same affecting a group of people that are more reflective of communities that are not often left to figure it out.
Let us not re-learn the lessons over/over addiction is a health care issue.
Crack drug issues affect a group of people that some of the political spectrum are willing to let live in pain; this "new" Opioid is in many ways the same affecting a group of people that are more reflective of communities that are not often left to figure it out.
Let us not re-learn the lessons over/over addiction is a health care issue.
3
What I don't understand is WHY we are not discussing on a national level this secondary medical and social tragedy that results from our inattention to solving our skyrocketing opiate addiction problems.
None of the options being discussed here in this one tiny article are easy or can be successful in the short term. Foster care? Sadly, there are far fewer qualified parents raising their hand to help than there are infants who need them. Thus, you then run the risk of placing these medically fragile babies into homes which are not taking them for right reasons.
Allowing the child to remain with his mother who is already fighting a day to day battle of her own is fraught with unimaginable and potential economic and social stressors which can be as we all know, deadly, without serious one-on-one assistance from qualified professional medical personal and, simply, a caring family living nearby.
We talk far too easily out of the side of our mouths about things which we know nothing about. This is one of them. Until we make solving our addiction problem a top priority in this country, nothing will change. So far, we're batting zero, knowing our already failing health care access system is about to be made even less accessible than ever. What a shame. For these babies and their mothers.
None of the options being discussed here in this one tiny article are easy or can be successful in the short term. Foster care? Sadly, there are far fewer qualified parents raising their hand to help than there are infants who need them. Thus, you then run the risk of placing these medically fragile babies into homes which are not taking them for right reasons.
Allowing the child to remain with his mother who is already fighting a day to day battle of her own is fraught with unimaginable and potential economic and social stressors which can be as we all know, deadly, without serious one-on-one assistance from qualified professional medical personal and, simply, a caring family living nearby.
We talk far too easily out of the side of our mouths about things which we know nothing about. This is one of them. Until we make solving our addiction problem a top priority in this country, nothing will change. So far, we're batting zero, knowing our already failing health care access system is about to be made even less accessible than ever. What a shame. For these babies and their mothers.
15
I hope there will be articles about what works in treatment of opiate addiction. Between FL fraud in recovery treatment and being on Suboxone (mis)usage, I really wish I understood what really works
1
I trained at Kentucky Children's for my residency, and I can remember trying at least four or five different protocols for NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome) during my time there. Each of them had plusses and minuses, but they were all conducted in the context of rows of bassinettes lined up next to each other, minimal space, and limited privacy. We tried to keep the babies with NAS in as quiet an area as possible, but with so many babies, and so little room, it was far from ideal, for them and for the parents. I'll admit, we had a lot families who never visited the infants once during their admissions, and they had transportation. Others, though, were there every day.
I'm thrilled that KY Children's has built a new area for these infants and their moms. The hospital I work at now opened a similar unit several months ago. Here's hoping the results from these wards confirm the research findings, and more hospitals start to invest in them.
I'm thrilled that KY Children's has built a new area for these infants and their moms. The hospital I work at now opened a similar unit several months ago. Here's hoping the results from these wards confirm the research findings, and more hospitals start to invest in them.
29
So much anger elicited from apparent conservatives who don't feel that they should pay for anyone else's treatment. A few questions for them:
1. What role do you think the pharmaceutical industry played and plays in this opioid epidemic? Didn't pharma companies initially market these drugs aggressively as having less or no addiction issues?
2. Why are drug companies marketing drugs directly to consumers at all?
3. Why do drug companies send sales reps to our doctors' offices and sometimes pay doctors to speak about their drugs?
4. Regarding pregnancy among the drug-addicted, may we assume that those incensed by this are also strongly supporting Planned Parenthood in making contraception affordable and available, and in educating men and women on these issues?
1. What role do you think the pharmaceutical industry played and plays in this opioid epidemic? Didn't pharma companies initially market these drugs aggressively as having less or no addiction issues?
2. Why are drug companies marketing drugs directly to consumers at all?
3. Why do drug companies send sales reps to our doctors' offices and sometimes pay doctors to speak about their drugs?
4. Regarding pregnancy among the drug-addicted, may we assume that those incensed by this are also strongly supporting Planned Parenthood in making contraception affordable and available, and in educating men and women on these issues?
43
It is not the drug companies but the doctors writing the prescriptions. Period, end of discussion. Stop with the party line arguments.
15
Many studies show doctors are not immune to marketing! Purdue was found to have deceptively marketed Oxycontin. In 2007 the family-owned company paid >$600M in fines for deceptive and aggressive marketing. Since then...?
Forbes reports the Purdue owners, the Sackler family, have a $14B net worth.
Forbes reports the Purdue owners, the Sackler family, have a $14B net worth.
7
MM Okay, yes, it's both. (Notice how is isn't actually "end of discussion"?) The doctors' names are indeed on the prescriptions.
But the doctors don't make the money, and that makes a real difference to me. Also, as someone else has commented, doctors themselves are influenced by the crazy kind of marketing we allow in the USA.
I myself was damaged by a drug with no proven benefit when prescribed for primary prevention...but so was one of the doctors in the group that prescribed the drug to me. Most doctors would not prescribe a drug that they knew to be of no benefit, because of course all drugs have adverse effects.
Pharma companies have 2 lobbyist per congressperson. Pharma companies lobby for things like Supreme Court decisions freeing generic drug companies of possible litigation for faulty drug design or warning labels not correct.
But yes, I agree with you: doctors who write the prescriptions have an obligation to do no harm. Statinvictims.com
But the doctors don't make the money, and that makes a real difference to me. Also, as someone else has commented, doctors themselves are influenced by the crazy kind of marketing we allow in the USA.
I myself was damaged by a drug with no proven benefit when prescribed for primary prevention...but so was one of the doctors in the group that prescribed the drug to me. Most doctors would not prescribe a drug that they knew to be of no benefit, because of course all drugs have adverse effects.
Pharma companies have 2 lobbyist per congressperson. Pharma companies lobby for things like Supreme Court decisions freeing generic drug companies of possible litigation for faulty drug design or warning labels not correct.
But yes, I agree with you: doctors who write the prescriptions have an obligation to do no harm. Statinvictims.com
3
Why are fathers never mentioned in these type of stories ..... These born addicted children are our future ...
30
The school that prevented an A student from participating in graduation; because she told them she was pregnant - the response is punish the woman
it's always the woman's fault.
it's always the woman's fault.
20
Probably because the fathers are unknown.
12
Wrong, DP.
It was a private, religious school that banned the pregnant student from walking across the stage. The father was not a student at that same school or he would have been banned, too.
While I disagree with the stance the school took, no one forced that girl or her parents to sign up and attend.
It was a private, religious school that banned the pregnant student from walking across the stage. The father was not a student at that same school or he would have been banned, too.
While I disagree with the stance the school took, no one forced that girl or her parents to sign up and attend.
8
They should both be given health care and support. The end. No judgement, no prevaricating, no moral panic, no stern lectures from the moral high ground, no bureaucratic meddling, no Presidential tweets, no scolding, no scapegoating.
Care and support and nothing else.
Care and support and nothing else.
102
Does this include free birth control and a life time supply of needles?
7
Agreed!
1
As the mother of an infant myself, I cannot imagine how a woman can choose to have a child under these conditions. While pregnant, I used to evaluate very carefully every decision I made and what food I consumed for the sake of my unborn child. This woman's selfishness makes me sick. I agree with many on this article: addicts should be offered a permanent or semi permanent form of birth control. Raising a child in a two parent, stable income home is hard enough. The prospects of this child, who I'm sorry I can't even remember how to spell her name (was she still on drugs when the mother gave her that name?) is very grimm. Very curious to know how this woman is paying for all this outpatient care and neonatal services for this child. I bet it's from the tax payer dollars of thousands of women who don't have the luxury to hang around and snort oxy and have to work to provide for their children. Now that's unfair.
37
Do not worry about payment. The medical industry creates many well-paying jobs for all kinds of workers. If the various people whose income depends on the medical industry did not work -- who would pay for their living?
More people should be willing to be foster parents.. and there should be IMO a public system of boarding schools. Many of us could nuture this child for the first five years or so.
Next article should be on how to become a foster parent. If ti was good enough for Michele Bachman from MI. it should be good enough for us.. and PS one is paid to do this. Maybe retiree villages should open their doors and sponsor a child a year or some such.
More people should be willing to be foster parents.. and there should be IMO a public system of boarding schools. Many of us could nuture this child for the first five years or so.
Next article should be on how to become a foster parent. If ti was good enough for Michele Bachman from MI. it should be good enough for us.. and PS one is paid to do this. Maybe retiree villages should open their doors and sponsor a child a year or some such.
2
The woman got help, stayed off of opiods while preggers, and finished rehab successfully. Did you not read the story first before commenting? I, for one, I'm glad that people do not instantly judge me based on the my worst mistake.
3
If your worst mistake is abusing an infant that's a pretty bad mistake. She took cocaine in the first trimester.
8
It's unfortunate that addicted (or recovering) mothers have their children taken away from them. Presumably, it's quite sad for the mother. But just because it makes her sad and can "increase the guilt she feels about the impact her addiction has on her baby and diminish her perception of her own mothering capacity" does not at all mean she is fit to parent. It is our moral responsibility in a society to remove children from dangerous situations, and this certainly qualifies. I'm not willing to send a baby home with an addict just so she doesn't feel guilty. It's unfortunate, but protecting the child comes first. The mother has already demonstrated unfitness for parenting by saddling the baby with an addiction at birth.
35
Considering an infant's instinctive need for its mother, it doesn't seem like the best idea for the baby to be separated from her. Yes, she's an addict; yes, there's a chance she may not recover from that addiction; and yes, she may not be the best person to care for the child, but look at it this way, why not give the mother and child at least 6 months or a year to be together and see how things work out? What if after losing her child, she becomes even more dependent on drugs? What if the child becomes worse after being separated so early from their mother? If it's possible to keep the mother and child together for a little while, check up on them every month, it's possible to see the progress of both mother and child. After that given amount of time, if the mother still is responsible and incompetent to providing all a baby needs and deserves, there are many people who want babies but can't conceive them under their circumstances. This sounds like a good mix of the addicted mothers' "keeping" their babies and having the babies separated from them.
22
I agree that with support many addicted mothers can adequately care for their children with good support. But that support needs to come in several times weekly, not monthly, doses. Some may need a lot of early handholding in order to succeed. If we really want them to succeed, we'll do that handholding as we encourage their self-confidence as mothers and their sobriety, while ensuring that babies are safe.
6
Not weekly, daily support. I worked at a child protection agency where the social worker set up daily contacts between the addicted mother and her newborn, either with a social worker, a parent educator or the pediatrician caring for the newborn since birth. One day the doctor was sick and the social worker and/or parent educator were not notified so they could fill in. That night the newborn died of a drug overdose because the mom could not get her to stop crying, so drugged the baby. The two year old sibling had drugs in his bottle, for the same reason. Mother was passed out, having relapsed that day.
23
I think in this case, it is best that the child stay with her parents until she has been clean for at least a year. Then, maybe with support, she could try it. But most certainly, imo, she should be allowed to stay with her child at the hospital. She sought rehab because she was pregnant. To remove the child at birth and not allow her to stay with it will most likely emotionally destroy her and she will give up and go back on the needle. It is healthier for the mom and baby to be together during the hospital stay, which should be the default, regardless of judgemental people who think otherwise.
4
No matter angry or upset we are with the mothers, the parents, these babies are here - as the clear-thinking adults, it is up to us to help. Better birth control options would be a good first step.
19
Good birth control already exists. To make any difference it would have to be enforced.
20
Both the father's and the mother's parental rights should voided. There are more homes looking for a child to love than addicted babies. This spares the child the pain of our pathetic foster care system and the pain dealing with a parent that will likely relapse again and again and again. Someone needs to step in and defend the child's rights to thrive over theses addicted parents right of ownership.
21
But we are seriously considering cutting back on treatment with the outcome hinging on just a few REPUBLICAN votes in the Senate . . .
Who are the deplorable?
Who are the deplorable?
13
The mom that got pregnant while using drugs, DUH.
10
These sad stories get me through the roof. The irresponsibility of women to have babies when they are drug addicts is beyond belief! They should be forced to use birth control or abstinence as long as there is a danger of adding another sick child that will probably end up in Foster homes. Or at least should be sent o to take a weekly course in birth control - preferably at Planned Parenthood - which we need!
15
I live in Oakland Ca and the opioid crisis is very remiscent of the crack cocaine epidemic that devastated the African American community here in the 80s. The first time as an addiction expert one saw so many mothers not just men using to the point that families fell apart. Grandmothers took over in many cases. In my opinion crack cocaine took hold here because the African American community was the first to feel the negative changes in the American economy that have now reached White America. I wish there was the same understanding and compassion back then that we see for White addicts today.
Whatever is in the best interests of the child long term comes first for me and that depends on each situation. Many people adopted babies of "crack mothers" so foster care is not always the outcome. Other family members also come through. Like the tobacco companies, the drug companies that showered communities with Oxycontin and told doctors it was not too addictive should pay for prevention and treatment. I have heard of a number of people who got addicted while using Oxy for pain management.
Whatever is in the best interests of the child long term comes first for me and that depends on each situation. Many people adopted babies of "crack mothers" so foster care is not always the outcome. Other family members also come through. Like the tobacco companies, the drug companies that showered communities with Oxycontin and told doctors it was not too addictive should pay for prevention and treatment. I have heard of a number of people who got addicted while using Oxy for pain management.
17
Of course babies do better in close proximity to their mothers, it doesn't take expensive research to know that, but poor addicted mothers are vilified and their babies are whisked away as punishment.
6
Mothers can fail in numerous ways -- they can die, they can be very sick following pregnancy, they in the past might not have produced sufficient breast milk, they might be working moms who can't be around. Babies do just fine w/o the birth mother ... So far as the mental status of the birth mothers, from this all we know is that they are addicted which suggests that when in withdrawal they become something close to irrational and under such circumstances could not be considered fit as a caretaker.
9
And just maybe, permanently whisked away. This woman has an older child, and yet...was addicted. What kind of mother does that make?
11
And what kind of parents does that make HER parents? And yet they are given custody of the first kid. Unbelievable.
3
This one caught my eye this week because if the mother goes all out of her way to get clean of an addiction that she has been working on since she knew she was pregnant and is fully clean when the baby is well that proves she wants that child, so why keep the child from the parent any longer. The mother of the mother is even hurt that her daughter can't have her child with her at night or possibly take her anywhere. Taking the child from the mother could of caused a relapse because the baby could of been her last hope.
In all honesty newborns being taken from drug addict mothers is all on the mother. If the mother knows her child is sick and she doesn't make and effort to go see her child then yes take the child from her. But if the mother works hard to get clean for the baby and they still don't give the baby to the mother then CPS has possibly done something wrong. As I said above a baby can be a breakthrough for some addicts and if you take the human that made them realize that they need to get themselves together they can possibly work even harder to get the child back or they can tumble back down the path they walked away from.
In the end taking the baby is all about the mother's actions.
In all honesty newborns being taken from drug addict mothers is all on the mother. If the mother knows her child is sick and she doesn't make and effort to go see her child then yes take the child from her. But if the mother works hard to get clean for the baby and they still don't give the baby to the mother then CPS has possibly done something wrong. As I said above a baby can be a breakthrough for some addicts and if you take the human that made them realize that they need to get themselves together they can possibly work even harder to get the child back or they can tumble back down the path they walked away from.
In the end taking the baby is all about the mother's actions.
1
The purpose of a baby is not to help a mother recover from addiction.
44
You're assuming there was any purpose at all. Doubtful.
2
I have a hard time believing that someone, who became pregnant while abusing drugs then was unable to get off drugs during pregnancy, would make a good parent. What a sad situation.
19
A pregnant woman cannot safely detox. She needs to move off street drugs to something regulated and prescribed, like buprenorphine, and then she and baby are treated after birth. There are very few treatment centers that will take pregnant women.
That said, the state usually does not take custody but did in this case for reasons we do not know.
That said, the state usually does not take custody but did in this case for reasons we do not know.
6
Good argument for free, universal birth control for all who may need or want it.
32
They'd have to actually use it.
15
All these comments about adopting these addicted babies is completely unrealistic. Where are all the selfless parents who will adopt these babies and deal with the round-the-clock problems associated with them? Adoption advocates often think it's a fine solution for some other family, but have a list of reasons why it shouldn't be theirs. The article makes clear the difficulties in caring for these children, and adoption is not foster care. Adoption is forever. The child is not with you for a short time, but for all time, and the problems may persist for years. In reality, adoption is not a solution. If these babies are taken from their mothers they could languish in foster care for years waiting for an adoptive family to come along. Keeping babies and mothers together and helping both is the practical solution. It's possible for addicts to get well-many have, and stayed off drugs. But, they need help to do it. Taking their children away isn't the answer for either mother or child.
24
I think they've got a better shot in foster care then going home with an addict. Foster care gives them a much better chance at a safe home.
6
Believe it or not many of the Russian babies up for adoption came from an addict -- usually alcohol.
however, our current legal system (case law) would make adoption potentially risky. If the children are white or cute they could prob be adopted.
however, our current legal system (case law) would make adoption potentially risky. If the children are white or cute they could prob be adopted.
2
As we've seen, all those forced-birthers (I mean pro-lifers) have been diligent in ensuring that they value the sanctity of life and have adopted oodles and oodles of these children. Hence, there are no children in need of adoption in this country.
Oh, sorry. I entered a parallel universe for a moment and got confused.
Oh, sorry. I entered a parallel universe for a moment and got confused.
21
Ironic, yet not surprising, that this spotlighted case has occurred in Kentucky, Mitch McConnell's home state. Do the voters of Kentucky really believe that McConnell has ALL their best interests at heart and not just that of the wealthy and corporate CEOs and stockholders? If his ACA replacement bill becomes law, we are likely to see devastating effects opioid addicted citizens, the economies, and hospitals in Kentucky and every other state.
16
If we lived in a civilized society, the government would care for the infant and put the addicted mother in a treatment facility on-site. Both need healthcare.
Vilifying addicts doesn't work. Where did she get the prescription drugs in the first place? Maybe the healthcare providers and the drug manufacturers who have distributed opioids like candy for the past 20+ years should pick up the tab for both patients.
Vilifying addicts doesn't work. Where did she get the prescription drugs in the first place? Maybe the healthcare providers and the drug manufacturers who have distributed opioids like candy for the past 20+ years should pick up the tab for both patients.
29
Sue everybody! Blame Coca-Cola for obesity. Blame pharma for addictions. Blame Kelloggs for Pop-Tarts. The reality is there are alot of troubled people in the world and a huge number in the U.S. and most of the problems people have are not the fault of huge companies but rather our culture of selfishness and cruelty and how we treat each other. A lack of hope due to the power structure in America is the real reason for such problems.
The fact is there are alot of bad parents in America who have children who then become bad parents themselves and on and on. There is not enough money in this country to treat every troubled person. It will never happen. So while you sit behind a keyboard sounding so high and mighty addressing a fantasy land solution the problem will never ever end.
Oh and by the way, the drug companies you demonize. One day you will need them as we all do and you will thank god they exist trying to cure cancer or some other awful disease. They may overcharge for their drugs but one day you will be running to them to extend your life.
The fact is there are alot of bad parents in America who have children who then become bad parents themselves and on and on. There is not enough money in this country to treat every troubled person. It will never happen. So while you sit behind a keyboard sounding so high and mighty addressing a fantasy land solution the problem will never ever end.
Oh and by the way, the drug companies you demonize. One day you will need them as we all do and you will thank god they exist trying to cure cancer or some other awful disease. They may overcharge for their drugs but one day you will be running to them to extend your life.
13
She probably stole them or bought them from someone who stole them, maybe even family members who need them. Because of that people that really need these drugs are finding it harder and harder to get them. Do you know how many times an addict will relapse and have to go through therapy again? At least 3 by most estimates. How many times do we pay for that? No thanks.
10
This just makes me so sad. We still don't get babies needs, do we? There is ample research that shows that addiction arises out of pain, and taking newborns from their mothers is an intense adverse/painful experience that affects the wiring of their brains. (Not intending to disrespect adoption, where a baby is going to a loving family prepared to meet their needs) Yes, baby brains can rewire, but they need love and nurturing for that to happen, not just medical care. Babies NEED to be held to get the hormones their brains need. Putting addicted babies into a brightly lit and high activity situation without their mothers - well, I think that just punishes everyone and ensures the cycle of trauma and addiction goes on and on.
17
I don't understand people here who push for blanket suggestion for abortion or semi-forced IUD. Being born with opiate withdrawal is not the end of the world; it is far less harmful than being born with FASD, for example.
5
It will not affect the child only in terms of withdrawal. They will have problems lifelong.
16
Any addict, regardless of substance, should be offered/incentivized to use long acting reversible contraception because addicts are not capable of parenting. The issue isn't just what happens at birth, if you can't stay clean through pregnancy, how are you going to stay clean through your kid's childhood. How many parents have to be found passed out in cars or in public with their kids because they just snorted or shot up some form of opioid? How many kids need to find their mom dead from an overdose? Get clean and stable, have your IUD removed and have a kid when you can take care of them and be a parent.
19
Eve, exposure to opioids in utero does not cause lifelong issues at all.
The major reason why these babies should be taken from their addicted parents is to help them survive. Mothers who are addicted will pass the drugs to the babies while nursing. Parents who are addicted are a threat to their own safety, and certainly in no condition to care for a baby. Does anyone remember the horror of "Trainspotting?" How many pictures have we seen of unconscious or dead parents with needles stuck in their arms while children are in car seats, etc? It may be harder on the baby, but it will help guarantee survival in the long run.
23
Trainspotting is a movie which is highly stylized and not very realistic.
Not all babies born dependent on opioids have mothers who are in active addiction. Many of these mothers are in recovery being treated with buprenorphine or methadone. They have often been in recovery for years and live stable, normal lives.
Mothers taking prescribed opiates and whose babies are suffering from NAS are actually encouraged by doctors to breastfeed. Not only is breastmilk best for them but the small amount of the medication passed to the baby helps withdrawal symptoms, sometimes making treatment with morphine unnecessary.
Not all babies born dependent on opioids have mothers who are in active addiction. Many of these mothers are in recovery being treated with buprenorphine or methadone. They have often been in recovery for years and live stable, normal lives.
Mothers taking prescribed opiates and whose babies are suffering from NAS are actually encouraged by doctors to breastfeed. Not only is breastmilk best for them but the small amount of the medication passed to the baby helps withdrawal symptoms, sometimes making treatment with morphine unnecessary.
1
I see a lot of calls to place these infants for adoption, but I find that "solution" to be incredibly naive. These are medically complex infants with an uncertain prognosis: the likelihood of finding loving adoptive homes for each - or even most - them is fantasy. In reality, these children will languish in a broken and overburdened foster-care system. With each passing day in foster care, the chances that they will find a permanent home drop. Their chances of emerging psychologically unscathed will drop as well. The trauma of (what children perceive to be) repeated abandonment is a core part of what will later feed their own cycle of addiction. As a former foster child who remembers life with an addicted mother, the foster care system is NO solution. There are far fewer "loving families" waiting to adopt wounded and medically complex foster children than naive commenters believe. Studies show this works: let's stop judging addicts and give the families support and a fighting chance.
27
The prognosis for these babies isn't unknown, assuming that the mother has only used opiates during pregnancy, especially methadone or buprenorphine. Once withdrawal is over they tend to develop pretty much normally, albeit slightly later than their peers. They have usually caught up by age 18 months though.
There is some evidence that these kids have a higher rate of ADHD but it's not conclusive that it's caused by opiates.
There is some evidence that these kids have a higher rate of ADHD but it's not conclusive that it's caused by opiates.
1
If they are adopted as an infant they would not have these problems.
1
For those unwilling to " allow" abortions, or even Birth Control: You will be responsible for at least one sick newborn, 24/7, for the next 18 years. The
Child will be brought to your home, next week. If you can't handle this, please take the child to YOUR congressional representative. Thanks.
Child will be brought to your home, next week. If you can't handle this, please take the child to YOUR congressional representative. Thanks.
48
Ms. Clay says her heart is torn. That is nothing compared to the pain of withdrawal her infant daughter experienced for months. What an awful way to begin life. The same way her toddler sister began life. Ms. Clay thinks it's unfair that the baby was taken away from her because she took methadone while she was pregnant, and oh yeah, she did cocaine a few times in the first trimester. This person does not deserve to have children. Where is the father(s) of her kids? I hope for the best for these children. How many more drug addicted babies will Ms. Clay have?
67
Lots more. She is only 28.
12
Please choose one: keep taking drugs and don't have children or don't do drugs so you can have children that won't suffer these awful withdrawal situations.
33
Let them take their infants IF they agree to be sterilized before leaving the hospital, so at least no further child suffers those withdrawal agonies.
Similarly women in treatment programs should be required to accept long-acting passive forms of birth control like Norplant or IUD.
I can't believe how selfish these people are. It's not THAT hard to prevent or abort a pregnancy.
Similarly women in treatment programs should be required to accept long-acting passive forms of birth control like Norplant or IUD.
I can't believe how selfish these people are. It's not THAT hard to prevent or abort a pregnancy.
56
I agree about requiring women in treatment programs to accept long-acting forms of birth control such as Norplant or IUDs. And it's much less costly to taxpayers and society to fund such birth control vs. more babies being born in these circumstances.
But for low-income people living in red states, actually it's VERY hard to obtain contraception. The most effective forms of contraception, including birth control pills as well as the long-acting forms such as Norplant or IUDs, require doctor's appointments and are very costly.
And abortions are nearly impossible to access in many of these states now - there are fewer and fewer providers, an abortion is expensive - and laws in many red states require waiting periods and other obstacles.
This is why Federal funding of Planned Parenthood via Medicaid is essential - and why contraception should be mandated for insurance plans.
But for low-income people living in red states, actually it's VERY hard to obtain contraception. The most effective forms of contraception, including birth control pills as well as the long-acting forms such as Norplant or IUDs, require doctor's appointments and are very costly.
And abortions are nearly impossible to access in many of these states now - there are fewer and fewer providers, an abortion is expensive - and laws in many red states require waiting periods and other obstacles.
This is why Federal funding of Planned Parenthood via Medicaid is essential - and why contraception should be mandated for insurance plans.
23
Last I heard, red states are red because the people who live there make them that way.
Yes, the baby should be taken away and the "mother's" tubes should be tied. If people really cared about babies, this would be a no brainer. No one is entitled to do this to another human being.
45
What a ghastly suggestion.
4
Well, they *say* they care about babies but people who protest abortion clinics or say that birth control shouldn't be free will only adopt perfect white babies who weren't born drug addicted.
7
I guess you didn't read the article. It's not about mothers raising their children but about babies being with their mothers in the hospital while ill. Studies show that mom being there is best for the baby. Isn't that what you care about?
1
Nothing easy about taking care of newborns when the mother cant take care of herself.
However there are horrible mothers out there that have never touched drugs, as well.
What is a mother. Its all of us despite gender and anything else.
Welcome to the tribe.
However there are horrible mothers out there that have never touched drugs, as well.
What is a mother. Its all of us despite gender and anything else.
Welcome to the tribe.
8
Are we supposed to feel sorry for a drug addict who didn't bother to use birth control while she was having sex? Her parents are already watching her toddler, so she was stupid and irresponsible twice. She thinks it is unfair how she is being treated. What is unfair is that tax dollars are supporting her stupid decisions. While it is admirable that she wanted to get off her substitute drug addiction, what she should be required to do is use birth control. I wish her luck, but I am tired of having to foot the bill for irresponsible behaviors.
41
Shouldn't birth control be paired with opiates or opiate blockers? As in, here is your OxyContin, and here is your Norplant. Sorry but you can't have the one without the other...
28
Exactly.
9
Should that be the case for women who have to take opiates for medical reasons too?
1
As a mother to a baby, whom we adopted as a newborn, that was born dependent on opioids this article oversimplifies the problems these infants experience. A private room outside of the noise and bustle of the NICU would have helped tremendously, but my and my husbands presence for most hours of the day was not enough to sooth our daughter. Yes, these infants need near constant holding and swaddling in conjunction with medication when necessary. Methadone, phenobarbital, morphine- all are equally necessary measures to assuring a slow and careful reduction in dependence when combined with lots of swaddling, holding and patience.
28
How can anyone who is struggling with a already life threatening addiction take care of the child like you describe? I was a mom at 23. It took everything in me to parent. I barely drank and had never done drugs and it took my entire mental, physical and emotional being to parent. I knew 5 minutes after he was born he was it and I would never do that again. I just don't know how these women can care for anyone else but themselves at this point especially if they want to beat their addictions. I'm a huge supporter of the right to choose but I hope women will realize that sometimes they need to choose themselves, no matter how much it hurts.
10
The judges and legal system need better education about buprenorphine. Many infants do not require detox as well.
Taking Subutex stabilizes the mother, allows her to focus on prenatal care, reduces the risk of miscarriage due to heroin withdrawal. The babies often do fine.
Taking Subutex stabilizes the mother, allows her to focus on prenatal care, reduces the risk of miscarriage due to heroin withdrawal. The babies often do fine.
9
Its abuse! Separate the baby until the Mother resolves her addiction!
10
Why didn't this woman have an abortion?? Because "life is sacred" and it's better to bring a baby into this world where her very first experiences are nothing but pain and suffering?
32
Well we don't know but Kentucky is a state with restricted abortion access. A quick google search shows that the closest place to get an abortion is about an hour away and abortions cost money. Getting an abortion often requires the sorts of resources that these women may not have.
7
which is why abortion should be on demand and covered by federal funds.
15
They have the resources to buy opiates though. I'm sorry, I don't buy the "resources" argument. In this day and age, it's actually very easy NOT to get pregnant. Maybe they should devote a few opiate resources to that pursuit too.
5
Another advantage of keeping Mother and baby together in an inpatient situation is that the Mother can also receive care and more important is the case management for discharge. Getting the baby through witthdrawal is just the first step in care of this family. Transition to home with a Mom who knows how to care for the infant is very important.
10
For those urging the use of birth control, please write a generous check to Planned Parenthood which is often the sole provider of reproductive health services for many women in the U.S. Financial support would be a better use of your time vs. writing a NYT comment as the daily damage wrought by the ruling party and the current administration only increases the number of newborns born opioid dependent.
64
Done! and DONE! Thank you!
4
I agree and have been a 30-year donor to Planned Parenthood.
But sorry, condoms are sold at every gas station. Other forms of birth control, that when used in conjunction with condoms, are sold OTC in the aisles of every WalMart, chain drug store and most supermarkets in the United States.
I abhor what the repugnants are trying to do to Planned Parenthood but that is still no excuse for an "accidental" pregnancy. I did not have access to hormonal contraception till my late 20s but managed for the prior decade not to get pregnant merely with what was available in the drugstore aisles. Where there is a will, there is a way.
But sorry, condoms are sold at every gas station. Other forms of birth control, that when used in conjunction with condoms, are sold OTC in the aisles of every WalMart, chain drug store and most supermarkets in the United States.
I abhor what the repugnants are trying to do to Planned Parenthood but that is still no excuse for an "accidental" pregnancy. I did not have access to hormonal contraception till my late 20s but managed for the prior decade not to get pregnant merely with what was available in the drugstore aisles. Where there is a will, there is a way.
18
Condoms are cheap.
6
This research makes me wonder if similar treatment of drug addicted adults would be more effective if they were provided with the loving care these infants are? Humans are social animals we need touch and comfort.
17
I don't think so. Detox is a very small part of recovery. Despite what media often leads you to believe the hard part isn't getting off drugs, as excruciating as that is, it's not getting on again. The best way to prevent relapse is using maintenance medications that occupy the opiate receptors in the brain stopping the symptoms that lead to relapse. Of course kindness and caring is also tremendously important.
1
Why is 2012, 5 years ago, the last year for which figures are available? Are we not taking a hard enough look at this?
And couldn't the doctors who so freely prescribe oxycodone, also prescribe birth control?
Seems to me a one-word solution for the future would be: Norplant
And couldn't the doctors who so freely prescribe oxycodone, also prescribe birth control?
Seems to me a one-word solution for the future would be: Norplant
18
Babies are not born 'addicted.' Babies are born physiologically dependent on opiates. Addiction, which is associated with a set of drug-seeking behaviors, is totally distinct from dependence, which is a physiological state of being. It is impossible for a baby to be 'addicted.' Change your title 'hook' to stop feeding into the stigma and public shaming that is already prevalent enough in our culture. You should know better.
27
how can a society continue like this , there is no future thanks to the democrats
4
Thanks to Democrats? What are you smoking? What about the cleptocratic government we have now who would like nothing better than to deny medical care to all but those who can afford it. So babies are sacred only when they are inside the womb, but once out its fend for yourselves.
32
It has nothing to do with democrats or republicans, a pox on both their houses. The issue is the influence that pharmaceutical companies have on congress. This is one of the root cause of run away medical inflation. Don't be a simpleton.
15
@at -- Oh please. Most opiate addiction comes from people being prescribed medication that is too strong for the pain that is being managed. It's a situation that spins out of control quickly. This is happening everywhere.
Blaming the Democrats is just too simplistic for words, but if the GOP tinkers with health care, look for NO treatment and NO help for neither babies nor mothers. That okay by you?
Blaming the Democrats is just too simplistic for words, but if the GOP tinkers with health care, look for NO treatment and NO help for neither babies nor mothers. That okay by you?
11
If keeping addicted babies together with their mothers leads to better outcomes, why punish the mothers with separation?
Yes, addicts shouldn't have kids if they're using but we cannot stop people from having sex. If we want to decrease the likelihood that addicted women will get pregnant, we should provide contraception. But people are debating the fairness of requiring insurance coverage that includes contraception. Men do not always wear condoms---some even remove them during sex unbeknownst to their partner!! Reality is that some women who are addicts will become pregnant and some will not forgo using drugs during pregnancy.
Should pregnant women who are using drugs have the option to abort? That option, no easy decision, is getting more and more difficult as our government moves aggressively to shut down abortion providers. So, some women who are actively using drugs will have babies.
What do we do about the babies born addicted? How can we not do what is medically best for them? They will grow up--- don't we want to maximize the chances for babies born addicted to grow into fully functioning, normal adults?
Yes, addicts shouldn't have kids if they're using but we cannot stop people from having sex. If we want to decrease the likelihood that addicted women will get pregnant, we should provide contraception. But people are debating the fairness of requiring insurance coverage that includes contraception. Men do not always wear condoms---some even remove them during sex unbeknownst to their partner!! Reality is that some women who are addicts will become pregnant and some will not forgo using drugs during pregnancy.
Should pregnant women who are using drugs have the option to abort? That option, no easy decision, is getting more and more difficult as our government moves aggressively to shut down abortion providers. So, some women who are actively using drugs will have babies.
What do we do about the babies born addicted? How can we not do what is medically best for them? They will grow up--- don't we want to maximize the chances for babies born addicted to grow into fully functioning, normal adults?
143
Unless I missed it, it wasn't clear to me what happens when the infant goes home, if he/she has stayed with the drug addicted parent. Does the parent need to be in an outpatient rehab program to take the infant home? There is a lot that goes on outside these newborn hospital stays. Keeping kids with parents who are addicted to opioids, heroin, etc is a scary idea.
30
Rarely, if ever, is a baby sent home with a mother who is in active addiction. Normally she would have to be involved in treatment, have stable suitable housing and be free of illicit drugs to take the baby home. CPS is usually involved and continues to supervise mom and baby for some time.
2
It is incredibly sad and disturbing to hear the awful withdrawal symptoms these infants go through for months. What a terrible way to be brought into this world.
16
"It wasn't fair." I can't raise much empathy for women who continue pregnancies knowing their babies will suffer withdrawal. Many women should NOT be mothers.
48
I agree..........but these women are not mothers. They don't care what happens to the babies they give birth to - they care only about their own desire for fix after fix after fix.
7
Poverty and hopelessness would reduce us all to addicts of one kind or another. The drug crisis in the U. S. affects mainly people who aren't making it and can't find any help. A cruel and ridiculous country, the richest on earth but with no heart. Giving up now even what we had of the human services and support all people need.
12
I beg to differ......poverty has nothing to do with addiction. I grew up in a house with three rooms and a path. In case you don't know that means, my home for 9 years had no indoor plumbing - the path was to the outhouse.
When I was 9, we moved to town so my mother could work. She walked to work if my father, a skilled construction worker, had to work out of town. They bought a 6 room house - with indoor plumbing! A bathroom at last.
We had loving parents, and plenty to eat. As one of my sons said a few years ago, we had free-range chicken and organic vegetables and fruits.......long before those products were available at Harry's Farmers Market and later at Whole Foods. How? A chicken house in the back yard and a vegetable garden, and a mother who knew how to care for the chickens and how to can and later how to freeze fruits and veggies.
Neither of my siblings nor I were ever addicted to any substance - not alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal. All three of us did pretty well - two graduated from college and one graduated from the area technical school.
So don't tell me - and millions of others - that there's not a way out of poverty. Millions of Americans, white, black and other shades, work our way out of poverty, year after year.
And don't tell me - and millions of others - what too many people believe: poverty does not equal stupidity. But drug addiction does = stupidity.
When I was 9, we moved to town so my mother could work. She walked to work if my father, a skilled construction worker, had to work out of town. They bought a 6 room house - with indoor plumbing! A bathroom at last.
We had loving parents, and plenty to eat. As one of my sons said a few years ago, we had free-range chicken and organic vegetables and fruits.......long before those products were available at Harry's Farmers Market and later at Whole Foods. How? A chicken house in the back yard and a vegetable garden, and a mother who knew how to care for the chickens and how to can and later how to freeze fruits and veggies.
Neither of my siblings nor I were ever addicted to any substance - not alcohol or drugs, legal or illegal. All three of us did pretty well - two graduated from college and one graduated from the area technical school.
So don't tell me - and millions of others - that there's not a way out of poverty. Millions of Americans, white, black and other shades, work our way out of poverty, year after year.
And don't tell me - and millions of others - what too many people believe: poverty does not equal stupidity. But drug addiction does = stupidity.
21
I lived in pretty bad poverty years with little hope that things would get better. I never became addicted to opiates or opioods.
Quit excusing people who make horrible choices, and then complain about how unfair their lives are.
I don't agree with giving the child to the woman's parents. They apparently didn't do such a great job raising their own daughter.
Quit excusing people who make horrible choices, and then complain about how unfair their lives are.
I don't agree with giving the child to the woman's parents. They apparently didn't do such a great job raising their own daughter.
13
In this case, both parents work long hours. The family was not in poverty.
2
My ex is a relapse machine of an addict. I have full custody of my daughter, won at huge expense against precisely the kind of pro-mother bias seeping from this article. I hope ahe recovers, but until then she is poison. Period. Find another solution.
67
I took care of methadone addicted infants in the mid-eighties in a Special Care Nursery using the exact model of mother involved care outlined in the article - rooming -in was a new idea at the time and we had a room reserved right outside the nursery for any and all parents available 24/7. Fortunately, overall heroin use and methadone addiction decreased after this time, but has now re-surfaced in its various forms. Unbelievable to me, that the idea of involving moms who are actively engaged in drug treatment in the care of their newborns is treated so negatively by the individual states experiencing this resurgence of opioid addiction in infants and so obviously uneducated in evidenced based/best practice treatment options. There have been many medical and legal articles written on this (they date to the early eighties). In effect, they show that it is always in good form to support mothers actively engaged in treatment for drug addiction and their babies - oh yeah and it also saves money...hard to believe this isn't being treated as "Old News" and "already proven" - the data has always been there. We just need to re-familiarize ourselves with it.
15
This is a real tough one. I've gone from paying $1,100 a month in healthcare premiums last year to $1,600 this year. That's an extra $6,000 a year that should be going to replace a twelve year old car; but it's not. Ms. Clay has an ongoing problem with opioids. Until that's solved nothing right is going to come of her life. It seems as if everybody's throwing their hands up in the air looking for someone else to fix her problem. In the meantime our social, judicial and health services become clogged up taking care of issues for which there are answers. It's a lot easier for me to pay more in additional insurance premiums knowing that it's going to support a child with a birth defect rather than a self centered mother who puts her drug habit front and center of her children.
26
Your frustration with this issue is understandable, especially if your family has been lucky enough to avoid addiction. It's hard to imagine what addiction is like if you haven't seen it first-hand.
Addiction is a severe mental illness, a disorder of the person's brain. Addicts do not choose to be addicts; they're stuck with it, just like a person might get stuck with lupus or autoimmune disorder or schizophrenia. With lots of therapy, lots of practice at disease management, and lots of support from understanding friends/family, addicts can avoid relapses. If they don't constantly monitor themselves and take steps to prevent relapse, they will get sick again. Sometimes they die.
Many people don't realize that addiction is a mental illness. Hundreds of years ago, people thought the mentally ill were possessed by demons. As we learn more about how our brains work, we get better at recognising and treating mental illnesses. In the meantime, we can just try to reduce the suffering they cause.
Addiction is a severe mental illness, a disorder of the person's brain. Addicts do not choose to be addicts; they're stuck with it, just like a person might get stuck with lupus or autoimmune disorder or schizophrenia. With lots of therapy, lots of practice at disease management, and lots of support from understanding friends/family, addicts can avoid relapses. If they don't constantly monitor themselves and take steps to prevent relapse, they will get sick again. Sometimes they die.
Many people don't realize that addiction is a mental illness. Hundreds of years ago, people thought the mentally ill were possessed by demons. As we learn more about how our brains work, we get better at recognising and treating mental illnesses. In the meantime, we can just try to reduce the suffering they cause.
6
Those who become addicted are not "stuck with it" if they don't take that first hit. It is a self-inflicted "mental illness." And no, not all, or even a substantial number, of the growing millions of young heroin addicts started with prescribed medication for a bad back.
What is unfathomable is that more and more people continue to experiment with drugs after seeing the death and destruction first hand. The daily example of their friends having been arrested while passed out in a fast foods drive-through with a needle in their arm, or dying in droves, should warn off any potential drug user. That it doesn't, and they take that first pill anyway, eliminates all sympathy for pleas that "it is just a disease."
What is unfathomable is that more and more people continue to experiment with drugs after seeing the death and destruction first hand. The daily example of their friends having been arrested while passed out in a fast foods drive-through with a needle in their arm, or dying in droves, should warn off any potential drug user. That it doesn't, and they take that first pill anyway, eliminates all sympathy for pleas that "it is just a disease."
15
If you are looking for a model of treatment which is humane for both the drug-affected babies and their parents (not to mention cost-effective), consider the Pediatric Interim Care Center in Kent, Washington, which has been caring for these families for decades. http://picc.net/index.html
2
This article,describes, but inadequately explains an ongoing complex socio-political issue, process and its various policy outcomes.Babies of opioid addicted mothers are born ” addicted.” A word, concept, label, political mantra, outcome of a body of any living organism, human and nonhuman,reaching a state of “needing” more and more of a selected range of chemically active substances if a range of physical reactionsare not to be experienced and expressed.These include,opiates,barbiturates,alcohol,nicotine, caffeine, etc.Each group has its own expressed symptoms.Depending upon the
physical health of the baby, the withdrawal- cleaning out the system from this toxin-can range from flu-like symptoms, much discomfort, to death.The article doesn’t note in what ways,if any, the targeted addicted mother was taking care of herself durin pregnancy- ongoing examinations, healthy eating, not smoking, etc.A key issue for the neonate and the baby.The article doesn’t note whether the policies for taking the baby from the mother-addicted or not- treated in a special unit in a bigger hospital,etc.,is based on valid facts, medical-based needs, attitudes of policy makers,principles of faith, punishment, or what.As aprofessional working in the “substance use(r) area since 1960I am no longer surprised by the goulashing of facts, fictions and fantasies by presenting unhelpful “answers” when relevant questions are needed. Did the photos add needed understanding? What enables non-use of facts?
physical health of the baby, the withdrawal- cleaning out the system from this toxin-can range from flu-like symptoms, much discomfort, to death.The article doesn’t note in what ways,if any, the targeted addicted mother was taking care of herself durin pregnancy- ongoing examinations, healthy eating, not smoking, etc.A key issue for the neonate and the baby.The article doesn’t note whether the policies for taking the baby from the mother-addicted or not- treated in a special unit in a bigger hospital,etc.,is based on valid facts, medical-based needs, attitudes of policy makers,principles of faith, punishment, or what.As aprofessional working in the “substance use(r) area since 1960I am no longer surprised by the goulashing of facts, fictions and fantasies by presenting unhelpful “answers” when relevant questions are needed. Did the photos add needed understanding? What enables non-use of facts?
3
Yes. Most voted for Trump. After all he promised them "good times"
7
So this is Trump's fault? Got it. Thanks.
8
He couldn't care less about solving it or helping the situation. He's too busy tweeting and committing treason.
9
Please share with us your data that says there were no drug addicts before November 8, 2016.
7
Welcome to another episode of insanity in GOP healthcare. They would rather cut services to women to help them avoid pregnancy and spend it on multi-million-dollar care for addicted babies who may possibly need lifelong care. But those babies and their moms will have to pay for all of that care by themselves, and those kids will never be eligible to buy insurance - all of their 'pre-existing conditions' will make them uninsurable. If drug-using would-be mothers could reason all of this out, maybe they wouldn't have kids -- but where would they go to get birth control? And now they will be counseled to have those kids because all women are being treated as 'handmaidens' to some all-powerful right-wing god.
29
Birth care has been obtainable for this addict before Trump took office and apparently she decided she didn't want to use it. Stop placing blame for this addict's problem. She and her boyfriend who got her pregnant did it to themselves. It's also called personal responsibility.
19
Interesting theory you have. Since many drug addicts buy their drugs on the street, your theory seems to be that they can afford the drugs but cannot afford $4 - $10 per month for birth control pills.
10
You will always get likes in a opiate article on the NYT by mentioning that whites didnt care about the Crack Epidemic. I see a few of these comments, which dont help anyone today and only serve the function of virtue signaling. Look at me, Im crass towards the pain of this white woman, Im so woke!
Here are some stats to show why this is a false equivalence. During the Crack Epidemic, the OD death rate per 100,000 people raised from 2 to 3 according to the National Center for Vital Statistics, a raise of 50%. Today, in the Opiate Crisis, the OD death rate per 100,000 people is 16.3!!!
From the Crack Epidemic to the Opiate Crisis, the death rate per 100,000 people rose by over 550%!
Another reason. Over 80% of the increased violence and overdoses occured in major metropolitan areas during the Crack Epidemic. As such, it was not a national issue. Rather, it was an urban issue, and compared to the entire national population it affected a much smaller subset of people which did happen to be disproportionately black. Meanwhile, the Opiate Crisis is not just a rural white issue. People of all races are dying accross the entirety of the country. While rural whites have been the most hurt, I find it naive to believe that the opiate crisis only affects rural whites. I met people of all races during my time as an addict, in Boston.
The response to the Crack Epidemic was aweful and deserves condemnation. However, it should not be used to dismiss the Opiate Crisis.
Here are some stats to show why this is a false equivalence. During the Crack Epidemic, the OD death rate per 100,000 people raised from 2 to 3 according to the National Center for Vital Statistics, a raise of 50%. Today, in the Opiate Crisis, the OD death rate per 100,000 people is 16.3!!!
From the Crack Epidemic to the Opiate Crisis, the death rate per 100,000 people rose by over 550%!
Another reason. Over 80% of the increased violence and overdoses occured in major metropolitan areas during the Crack Epidemic. As such, it was not a national issue. Rather, it was an urban issue, and compared to the entire national population it affected a much smaller subset of people which did happen to be disproportionately black. Meanwhile, the Opiate Crisis is not just a rural white issue. People of all races are dying accross the entirety of the country. While rural whites have been the most hurt, I find it naive to believe that the opiate crisis only affects rural whites. I met people of all races during my time as an addict, in Boston.
The response to the Crack Epidemic was aweful and deserves condemnation. However, it should not be used to dismiss the Opiate Crisis.
14
Crack and opioid addiction: One must not be used to dismiss the other. We do need to confront how we have approached the discussion in each of these situations and what role race plays in each.
I believe that we need to come up with the means (meaning money and programs) to help men and women who are drug addicted get clean. I believe that we need to reconsider the knee-jerk response (which I also have) of immediately taking away the children, recognizing that in some cases it could be the best approach for a situation.
If we do not look at how race affects these discussions, we will never be able to mend the rifts within our own society.
I believe that we need to come up with the means (meaning money and programs) to help men and women who are drug addicted get clean. I believe that we need to reconsider the knee-jerk response (which I also have) of immediately taking away the children, recognizing that in some cases it could be the best approach for a situation.
If we do not look at how race affects these discussions, we will never be able to mend the rifts within our own society.
Sorry, but I must have missed the part about prenatal care? What is going on there? I missed the part about primary care? Oh, I forgot, people have a hard time getting health care in this country. And with the GOP bill, if you don't have a job then just forget about it.
24
Why punish infants for their mothers' illness's? Newborns don't deserve the loss of a mother at such a vulnerable time because of judgement passed by a larger society uninvolved in their individual, personal life & death struggle.
7
interesting that leaving the addicted baby with the mother was not a consideration during the crack crisis. or maybe it's that those mother's were predominantly black or hispanic.
5
The crack addicted mothers left their babies in the hospital. Did you ever hear about "boarder babies"? And that was kinder than taking them home to be raised by an addled addict. The opiod addicted babies should be taken away from these people and given a chance too.
5
Being the proud father of two children, I cannot understand how anyone could carry a child whilst abusing drugs at the same time. Yes, it's a disease, but at the end of the day someone who is abusing drugs is simply not suitable to be a good parent. And drug abusers do not generally recover permanently. These poor helpless babies should be taken from their abusing birth mothers, and put up for adoption with the many safe, responsible would-be parents out there who are unable to have children of their own - infertile couples, or gay couples, or single parents who have proved they have the responsible attitude to parent a child, and desparately want the chance to be good parents. At the end of the day, parenting is about the day to day raising of a child over 18 years, it is not about the genetic link between child and parent. Keeping these poor babies with their drug-abusing birth mothers is only going to mean ongoing difficulties for them because their birth mothers do not have a high rate of recovery or going clean. The mere thought of putting one of my young children through the day to day of life with a drug-abusing mother or father chills me to the core. Place these children in a responsible, caring home once they are weaned off opiates, where they may flourish with true parental love.
117
Well, I hope you're not a doctor or otherwise in a position of authority over individual welfare, because your stated opinion demonstrates you have little understanding of human biology on one hand and on the other, a misconception of the societal and individual implications of foster care and adoption.
And, what reasonable parent would voluntarily give their children to the custody of a stranger suffering from a substance use disorder?
Finally, why did the NYT pick your comment?
And, what reasonable parent would voluntarily give their children to the custody of a stranger suffering from a substance use disorder?
Finally, why did the NYT pick your comment?
3
Because people are just lining up to adopt drug-addicted infants born to drug-addicted mothers, right? That must be a nice world you live in.
5
"Place these children in a responsible, caring home once they are weaned off opiates, where they may flourish with true parental love."
Ah, wouldn't that be nice: Have you studied or even considered for a moment actual foster care and adoption outcomes? As much as you would love to believe the world is nicely divided between "good adoptive parents" and "bad birth mothers"- it is far from that simple.
Ah, wouldn't that be nice: Have you studied or even considered for a moment actual foster care and adoption outcomes? As much as you would love to believe the world is nicely divided between "good adoptive parents" and "bad birth mothers"- it is far from that simple.
8
Such a terrible landscape. However, as news of the opioid epidemic gets more & more strident, I really wonder if throwing money at the problem - in the form of precious medicaid dollars - is the best course of action.
Addiction is a deadly disease. The reason there are 12-step programs for addiction is BECAUSE it is deadly. You don't have 12-step programs for, say, compulsive knitters bc that sort of compulsion does not kill. Ask any addict in recovery if they really want to spend their time in meetings. But that is the daily commitment required for ongoing abstinence. Once on a solid path of recovery - in community with other recovering addicts - many addicts can & do recover; even find lives filled with joy. Best of all, it is free. Maybe a dollar for the basket, but even that is entirely voluntary.
I can't help but feel this way when I see news stories featuring Narcan-armed medics, bursting upon ODs like superheroes & then watch the abruptly-revived addict run right back out to get high. That is exactly how Prince died. If this is our response to addiction, why would any addict struggle through the pain required to achieve true abstinence?
I don't mean to sound cruel. I would never want any drug-addicted persons I know or have known to die, or those whom others know & love. But without the rotting corpse of death strung over the gates of continued addiction, how will this disease maintain the rep of complete & utter devastation that it so rightly deserves?
Addiction is a deadly disease. The reason there are 12-step programs for addiction is BECAUSE it is deadly. You don't have 12-step programs for, say, compulsive knitters bc that sort of compulsion does not kill. Ask any addict in recovery if they really want to spend their time in meetings. But that is the daily commitment required for ongoing abstinence. Once on a solid path of recovery - in community with other recovering addicts - many addicts can & do recover; even find lives filled with joy. Best of all, it is free. Maybe a dollar for the basket, but even that is entirely voluntary.
I can't help but feel this way when I see news stories featuring Narcan-armed medics, bursting upon ODs like superheroes & then watch the abruptly-revived addict run right back out to get high. That is exactly how Prince died. If this is our response to addiction, why would any addict struggle through the pain required to achieve true abstinence?
I don't mean to sound cruel. I would never want any drug-addicted persons I know or have known to die, or those whom others know & love. But without the rotting corpse of death strung over the gates of continued addiction, how will this disease maintain the rep of complete & utter devastation that it so rightly deserves?
10
Mothers like Jamie have tried very hard to stay clean for their babies' sake. They should be encouraged to stay together, and especially to breastfeed, which will be best for both the mothers' and babies' physical and mental health.
10
So she can pass whatever she takes through her breast milk to the baby. Formula is best for this kid and hopefully some new parents.
3
The baby should remain with the mother in the hospital if at all possible, and of course, only if the mother is no longer on drugs and can adequately bond and nurture her baby after the birth.
3
Drug use itself is the very likely consequence of early abuse or neglect. These Moms had poor mothering when they were small.
To break the endless chain of miserable non-attached human beings begetting others, we need to do exactly this: teach vulnerable Moms how to parent and attach to their kids.
To break the endless chain of miserable non-attached human beings begetting others, we need to do exactly this: teach vulnerable Moms how to parent and attach to their kids.
5
No, we don't need everyone to breed. These people should be encouraged to use long-acting forms of birth control or, preferably, sterilization, to break these horrible cycles.
12
Drug use has nothing to do with early abuse or neglect. Have any citations to bolster that opinion?
3
It is disheartening to see many people blaming the addicted mothers.
I'm sure the majority are ashamed, concerned and feel guilty about how their addiction has translated to their children, planned or not.
Even though addicts love drugs they sure don't love the addiction itself - why more commenters have no sympathy for those less able, fortunate or capable is beyond me. These women need, and deserve, just as much help as their newborns. Their children may even provide the biggest incentive to get clean - why would you take away such a potentially significant positive force in their lives when hey already have so little?
I'm sure the majority are ashamed, concerned and feel guilty about how their addiction has translated to their children, planned or not.
Even though addicts love drugs they sure don't love the addiction itself - why more commenters have no sympathy for those less able, fortunate or capable is beyond me. These women need, and deserve, just as much help as their newborns. Their children may even provide the biggest incentive to get clean - why would you take away such a potentially significant positive force in their lives when hey already have so little?
6
Her previous child (children?) didn't provide her with incentive to stay clean and being pregnant didn't provide her with incentive to stay clean and not poison her baby.
26
It's astounding that a mother who is stable on methadone or suboxone is still at risk of losing her child. I can only imagine the loss of her child would not only trigger a depression where she would seek illegal drugs again, but the child becomes a greater risk also. I don't know what the answers are, but taking a child from a mother who is trying to regain her life isn't it.
109
A child should not be saddled at birth with the "job" of making an adult grow up and "regain her life" . That's an adult's responsibility.
18
I support research that identifies best practices. But best practice is not about comparative costs. I am completely disinterested in the cost of assisting these innocent newborns in their struggle to recover from parental abuse in utero. Every such child is worth more than any identifiable dollar amount. Nevertheless, the disease of addiction is not easily treated and there are never guarantees of sustained sobriety. The child is not the personal property of the addicted parent. The adult who must bear the responsibility for the child's addiction and the child must be protected from the impaired parent. We, as a society, need a family model that doesn't sacrifice innocent children to parental impairment.
16
Wow! If only they had put this much thought into the well being of children and families when the crack epidemic took over black communities. These types of policies have a much better chance of providing meaningful help and change to a difficult situation. We know that punishment and incarceration certainly will not work. Since this problem is expanding it is wise to consider all of these options.
23
Wow, my thoughts exactly. A crack epidemic among black people fills the prisons. An opioid epidemic among white people fills hospitals.
To be clear, I think all these addiction problems should be treated with medical and psychiatric care instead of prison. But where was all this compassion and concern for black communities?
To be clear, I think all these addiction problems should be treated with medical and psychiatric care instead of prison. But where was all this compassion and concern for black communities?
4
Where was it when meth was the scourge?
1
My newborn son born exposed to opioids is not an "addict." His birthmother, however, is and was an addict.
Roughly 24 hours after he was born and seemingly in good health, my husband and I got a knock on our hospital room -- a janitor's closet that the nurses fixed up so we three could be together in the crowded hospital. It was division of child services, telling us our son was born exposed. Do we still want to adopt him?, they inquired. If we said "no" he would go straight to foster care and not allowed to go back to the birth parents. There was no decision to be made. He was our son 100%, regardless of his health circumstances, and we would advocate in his best interests throughout his entire life, starting right then. We told the ladies in flak jackets the same. They left to go inform the birth parents of our son's diagnosis and our commitment to continue with the adoption. Our son's birth mother immediately fled the hospital, presumably out of fear, without signing the final adoption consent, leaving our son's health decisions in limbo. She later signed at a nearby church. He was in NICU for one week and we were with him every second that we were allowed. We sang; we held him. The nurses told us that physical bonding made all the difference in his recovery. Decisions to remove a baby from his birth parents are often made in the blink of an eye. Would hope there are many more parents willing to open their hearts to kids who need them in their most critical hours.
Roughly 24 hours after he was born and seemingly in good health, my husband and I got a knock on our hospital room -- a janitor's closet that the nurses fixed up so we three could be together in the crowded hospital. It was division of child services, telling us our son was born exposed. Do we still want to adopt him?, they inquired. If we said "no" he would go straight to foster care and not allowed to go back to the birth parents. There was no decision to be made. He was our son 100%, regardless of his health circumstances, and we would advocate in his best interests throughout his entire life, starting right then. We told the ladies in flak jackets the same. They left to go inform the birth parents of our son's diagnosis and our commitment to continue with the adoption. Our son's birth mother immediately fled the hospital, presumably out of fear, without signing the final adoption consent, leaving our son's health decisions in limbo. She later signed at a nearby church. He was in NICU for one week and we were with him every second that we were allowed. We sang; we held him. The nurses told us that physical bonding made all the difference in his recovery. Decisions to remove a baby from his birth parents are often made in the blink of an eye. Would hope there are many more parents willing to open their hearts to kids who need them in their most critical hours.
135
I treated and supervised the treatment of at least 7000 addicts and alcoholics during my career as an addiction and mental health counselor. This is a complex illness that manifests with the current drug of choice cycling as society reacts to the ill effects of one drug by moving on to another. The cycle starts over every generation or so. A few decades ago, it was cocaine. Then methamphetamines rose again. Now it's opiates. And always alcohol. The current opiate epidemic is no different.
While we clearly need to address the needs of these patients and the babies who are born addicted, we need urgently to also address the underlying factors that contribute to addiction. These include trauma, psychological abuse and physical pain among others.
Until we adequately fund mental health assessment and treatment all over the country and actively squash the stigma attached to mental illness, we will continue to see these cycles.
The most current healthcare bill offered by the Senate puts a bandaid on these problems rather than addressing them. If we really want to see a difference, we must tell the Senate we want real comprehensive healthcare, including maternal care and mental health coverage for all.
While we clearly need to address the needs of these patients and the babies who are born addicted, we need urgently to also address the underlying factors that contribute to addiction. These include trauma, psychological abuse and physical pain among others.
Until we adequately fund mental health assessment and treatment all over the country and actively squash the stigma attached to mental illness, we will continue to see these cycles.
The most current healthcare bill offered by the Senate puts a bandaid on these problems rather than addressing them. If we really want to see a difference, we must tell the Senate we want real comprehensive healthcare, including maternal care and mental health coverage for all.
50
And by all means let's further restrict access to birth control and abortion. That is really going to make these situations much better. Let's further punish the mothers, sow misery on the babies, while giving the 'fathers' a pass, unless these are all immaculate conceptions.
209
Do you really think that people high on drugs really take precautions like using birth control?
8
Maybe not, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't chose abortion if it was a covered insurance benefit.
5
@MDCooks8 I don't think people high on drugs can be counted on to use birth control pills or condoms while they're high, but we might want to encourage the women -- when they're not high -- to get an IUD. An IUD is very, very effective and lasts for years, which is what a drug addict probably needs.
11
Mitch McConnell is from Kentucky--he should go down to the hospital, volunteer to be a cuddler for these poor sick sad babies, then try and explain how rolling back Medicare and repealing the ACA is a good idea.
68
Perhaps Mitch can handout free needles too.
4
Good suggestion. Our politicians could use some grounding experiences.
1
Why should he any other taxpayer REWARD junkies for their criminal behavior? No thanks.
1
I am teaching the first wave of children born addicted, and I fear that our society has not taken steps to accommodate their needs as they age. Their brains developed without natural opiate makers that regulate mood and reaction. Their behavior is therefore unpredictable and often dangerous. I fear for them.
58
Kids have been born addicted to various things for literally thousands of years--as long as humans have been using mind-altering substances. You are not seeing "the first" (or the last) group; you're just newly aware of an ongoing human problem. If you're interested, you can research "crack babies" or "fetal alcohol syndrome" (both 20th century stories), alcoholism from the 1500s to the present, or opiate use from the 1700s to the present.
7
Just wondering if these are the same people who support Donald Trump and his team of evil opportunistic bullies who are at this moment trying to rollback the programs out there to help the opioid addicted and take away a woman's reproductive rights so more opioid addicted babies can be born?
17
Sure, the ideal is to treat them together in-patient where everything mom puts into her body (and thus into baby's) can be monitored (in other words, not a half-way or group home). But, no one wants to pay for that, so we make an immoral public health funding choice which only compounds mom's amoral medical condition (away from baby, she has no incentive to stop). And, who gets hurt? The completely innocent baby. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world.
5
I would support putting the woman in a nursing-home setting (if you could keep her there) to protect the baby she is carrying.........if she would agree to tubal ligation after the baby is born.
As a nurse, I can tell you the addicted woman will not care about birth control any more than she cares about the fetus she is carrying or the child/children she already has. She cares about drugs, period.
As a nurse, I can tell you the addicted woman will not care about birth control any more than she cares about the fetus she is carrying or the child/children she already has. She cares about drugs, period.
11
So many harsh words of judgment. Addiction is a disease, not a moral failure. Yes, bad choices are made, but nobody sets out to be a drug addict. Do we say the same terrible things about smokers who get lung cancer, or people who eat only junk food when they become diabetic?
7
Yes, actually, we do.
8
That's not the point. Yes, one should treat these addicted mothers with compassion, and hope they recover. But the odds are not good. And fundamentally, it is CRUEL to put a young child through the craziness of life with an addicted parent. Compassion for the child is much more important than compassion for the parent. These babies should be put for adoption with caring, responsible and loving homes where they have a chance of flourishing.
18
Addiction is not a moral failure but rather a failure to one's self.
Morally if addiction of any sort is a disease than many governments at all levels including the so-called stewards of liberal causes are hypocrites.
California for example raised taxes on cigarettes nearly $2.00 a pack, and claim this was to induce people to quit. Well they claim that 83 million less packs were sold since the additional tax was levied in April, but what actual evidence is there that people actually quit? None so far, only speculation.
My point is that if smoking any sort of substance is a disease, than why are very liberal places treating people who smoke like they have the black plaque?
Morally if addiction of any sort is a disease than many governments at all levels including the so-called stewards of liberal causes are hypocrites.
California for example raised taxes on cigarettes nearly $2.00 a pack, and claim this was to induce people to quit. Well they claim that 83 million less packs were sold since the additional tax was levied in April, but what actual evidence is there that people actually quit? None so far, only speculation.
My point is that if smoking any sort of substance is a disease, than why are very liberal places treating people who smoke like they have the black plaque?
2
The so called "New Strategy" which includes such incredible breakthroughs and discoveries as putting the baby in less bright, noisy distressing environments, reuniting the baby with its Mother to comfort, cuddle and possibly breast feed and by such, reducing or stopping the administration of Morphine to them (are you kidding me??!!) is NOT and should never have been a "New Strategy" and by all understanding ,common sense , logic and learning would be the only and obvious thing to do!!
Just as inflexible state orders/laws and caveats denying a Mother to be with her newborn baby (unless there are real and existing mental/drug abuse coping issues that may harm the baby or Mother ) and instead be left to grandparents or authorities is just plain stupid , unproductive and should only be considered as a last resort as such care cannot be good or helpful for a baby's care and optimum support and comfort.
Despite the well meaning intentions of staff, personnel and institutions, there seems to me to be a lot more room and consideration for people to pause and use what common sense, logic as well as innate knowledge, learning and experience has already shown and taught us all.
To and for the benefit of all , especially the innocent and already suffering newborn that needs the very best that can be provided and what is needed most.
Just as inflexible state orders/laws and caveats denying a Mother to be with her newborn baby (unless there are real and existing mental/drug abuse coping issues that may harm the baby or Mother ) and instead be left to grandparents or authorities is just plain stupid , unproductive and should only be considered as a last resort as such care cannot be good or helpful for a baby's care and optimum support and comfort.
Despite the well meaning intentions of staff, personnel and institutions, there seems to me to be a lot more room and consideration for people to pause and use what common sense, logic as well as innate knowledge, learning and experience has already shown and taught us all.
To and for the benefit of all , especially the innocent and already suffering newborn that needs the very best that can be provided and what is needed most.
14
It's a lose-lose situation:
GOP-subsidizing pharmaceutical companies and doctors they incentivize push opioid drugs to patients for ailments ranging from knee surgery to back pain to stomach issues like IBD. The drugs change brain chemistry so that a prescription drug demands addiction feeding. Drugs make it to the street because a new market had been created.
GOP removes both sex ed and abortion clinics from red states.
Surprise. Drug-addicted babies and drug-addicted terrified moms.
I can't jump on the ultra-liberal bandwagon and rant for these drug-craving moms and addicted babies to be reunited. Yes, it really may not have been their fault but it's dangerous for drug addicts even in remission to be primary caregivers - the stresses of caring for a high-needs child would be horrifically hard for a non-addict. Brain chemistry had been altered - thus is not solely a willpower issue!
The only way I see to turn this plague around to prevent billions in future human and financial waste:
Understand these are complex situations that require redress all the way back to the original pharma company and prescribing doctor.
Increase mental and physical health care access.
Increase sex ed and abortion clinic access.
Assign trained foster parents and give lots of supervised visitation to recovering moms.
There's no single magic solution - it will take real work
GOP-subsidizing pharmaceutical companies and doctors they incentivize push opioid drugs to patients for ailments ranging from knee surgery to back pain to stomach issues like IBD. The drugs change brain chemistry so that a prescription drug demands addiction feeding. Drugs make it to the street because a new market had been created.
GOP removes both sex ed and abortion clinics from red states.
Surprise. Drug-addicted babies and drug-addicted terrified moms.
I can't jump on the ultra-liberal bandwagon and rant for these drug-craving moms and addicted babies to be reunited. Yes, it really may not have been their fault but it's dangerous for drug addicts even in remission to be primary caregivers - the stresses of caring for a high-needs child would be horrifically hard for a non-addict. Brain chemistry had been altered - thus is not solely a willpower issue!
The only way I see to turn this plague around to prevent billions in future human and financial waste:
Understand these are complex situations that require redress all the way back to the original pharma company and prescribing doctor.
Increase mental and physical health care access.
Increase sex ed and abortion clinic access.
Assign trained foster parents and give lots of supervised visitation to recovering moms.
There's no single magic solution - it will take real work
23
I agree with you. I can't see reunification as an answer. And the current policy of eliminating birth control services and abortions for babies with significant health problems, without any kind of supportive services (Medicaid, homes, etc.) is beyond evil. We are forcing addicted women to have babies that will have social and medical problems all of their lives. And we are not offering a penny towards their support or help. That is the double bind that the GOP is offering.
5
Cultural taboos involving abortion need to change. How is a decision by this woman more moral, more spiritual than ending the pregnancy? Handing over children with serious medical issues to your parents to raise? If you're not ready to be a parent, you should be able to end the pregnancy early, legally, conveniently, and without guilt or shame. Day-after pills and condoms should be in every drug store and restroom vending machine. Abortion should not be made synonymous with atheism and/or cruelty.
12
The answer to pregnancy by addicts is not an issue of sex ed. The mayor of the largest city in my state and his girl friend married when she became pregnant. Both were college graduates, with post-graduate training as attorneys. Both are solid citizens, never drug users, but I use them to illustrate the fact that sex education can be taught from grade 7 through college years through post-grad years.........and unintended pregnancies can still occur.
It's not that people don't know how babies happen.......
It's not that people don't know how babies happen.......
5
This article deals only with infants and moms. What happens next? How do you raise a child that may have severe developmental problems into an adult who can function in society? Children with fetal alcohol syndrome have similar sets of problems. The current GOP unhealthcare bill cuts funding for disability programs. There is often little support for the needs of these children.
Ms Clay is lucky to have help from her parents. How many addicted mothers can say the same? If her mother or father become ill or unable to take care of these kids what happens?
Innovation needs to be applied to solve this kind of problem. Given the current administration that will not happen anytime soon.
Ms Clay is lucky to have help from her parents. How many addicted mothers can say the same? If her mother or father become ill or unable to take care of these kids what happens?
Innovation needs to be applied to solve this kind of problem. Given the current administration that will not happen anytime soon.
13
When the government decided tax payers should become surrogate families to support able-bodied, able-minded people who make bad choices such as not becoming educated or trained for a job, thus being unable to provide shelter and food for themselves and their children, with some also choosing addiction to substances, the fear and stigma are removed that motivate people to conform to expected social norms to care for their own. Publish an article of what becomes of children of parents dependent on taxpayers, especially those whose parents are addicts.
8
Since opioids are so terribly addictive- why don't we just ban the manufacture of them or at the very least, very strictly regulate when physicians can prescribe them and for what period of time?
My understanding is that people get prescribed opioids for pain management and then get easily hooked. Once they no longer can get prescriptions, they may turn to heroin dealers.
What did we do before these additive opioids were so commonplace?
Let's regulate the manufacture and prescribing of opioids so that we reduce the availability of opioids in general. I know these are big money makers for big pharma- but the cost to society like newborns born with addiction far outweigh the profits made by big pharma. The cost is in human life as well as real dollars in healthcare caring for all the people addicted.
My understanding is that people get prescribed opioids for pain management and then get easily hooked. Once they no longer can get prescriptions, they may turn to heroin dealers.
What did we do before these additive opioids were so commonplace?
Let's regulate the manufacture and prescribing of opioids so that we reduce the availability of opioids in general. I know these are big money makers for big pharma- but the cost to society like newborns born with addiction far outweigh the profits made by big pharma. The cost is in human life as well as real dollars in healthcare caring for all the people addicted.
8
Number of people suffering from Chronic Pain = 100 Million
Or 31% of the American population.
Number of people with opioid use disorder = 2.6 million or 0.008% of the American population.
Of the people who use opioids, roughly 25% become addicted. The other 75% do not.
You can't legislate for a small number of people when the population at large isn't at risk for addiction.
Or 31% of the American population.
Number of people with opioid use disorder = 2.6 million or 0.008% of the American population.
Of the people who use opioids, roughly 25% become addicted. The other 75% do not.
You can't legislate for a small number of people when the population at large isn't at risk for addiction.
7
That opioids are "highly addictive" is a myth perpetuated by media and drug war propaganda.
You don't blame Budweiser when a person becomes an alcoholic. Don't blame the doctors for addiction.
Addiction arises within the person and is a symptom of a larger issue, whether it be economic insecurity, untreated mental illness, or even opioid pseudoaddiction.
http://racism.org/index.php/articles/basic-needs/health/disparities/1507...
Choking the supply won't decrease demand for opiates.
You don't blame Budweiser when a person becomes an alcoholic. Don't blame the doctors for addiction.
Addiction arises within the person and is a symptom of a larger issue, whether it be economic insecurity, untreated mental illness, or even opioid pseudoaddiction.
http://racism.org/index.php/articles/basic-needs/health/disparities/1507...
Choking the supply won't decrease demand for opiates.
4
My perspective as an anesthesiologist:
If one were to ask a large sample of physicians to name three medications they would want to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island, I'm willing to bet that the class most consistently represented in their answers would be opioids.
Opioids are incredibly useful and do much more good than harm when prescribed/used appropriately. There is no question that opioid prescription practices need to be scrutinized and overhauled, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
M.
If one were to ask a large sample of physicians to name three medications they would want to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island, I'm willing to bet that the class most consistently represented in their answers would be opioids.
Opioids are incredibly useful and do much more good than harm when prescribed/used appropriately. There is no question that opioid prescription practices need to be scrutinized and overhauled, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water.
M.
13
I was sympathetic until I got to the part that this was her SECOND drug addicted baby.
273
That'a poor reason to withdraw sympathy or empathy. Opiate addiction is a complex illness that can require many tries before stable sobriety. It isn't that addicts don't want to be clean. It's that they often are in such psychological (and sometimes physical) pain that they can't think clearly of other ways to cope, if they even know how to do so. Just as with Ms. Clay, addiction often results from an attempt to self-manage the symptoms of various mental illnesses and trauma. While we need to find better ways to prescribe and manage opiates, the first issue is to better treat the conditions that contribute to addiction.
4
Yes, feel compassion for the addicted birth mothers, but the primary thing we should all be feeling is compassion for these poor babies. It is simply not right to let them be raised with addicted mothers who do not stand a very good chance of recovering. If you are a parent yourself you will feel chilled to the core to think of a poor defenseless child raised in the home of a drug abuser. It is not fair on the child. Being compassionate for the mothers should not override the most important thing of all - the welfare of poor, defenseless children
9
Did you notice that the second baby was addicted to the drug she is using to combat her initial addiction? She is going through the process of getting clean, I don't think we can blame her for not being completely cured.
7
I am sorry, but where is the personal responsibility in all of this? If this young woman is addict, that is okay, but she should NOT be having babies. And this is all funded by you and me, the US Taxpayer. Where? Why? I have some sympathy for as an addict, but she should not be procreating. And you and I should not be enabling this behaviour. Do you think she'd think about having kids if she knew it was on her dime?
42
Rush Limbaugh was the poster boy for Oxycontin addiction and abuse and actually hearing loss because of it, and he is a major voice for the GOP and the right wing. His responsibility was erased into some sort of victim status.
So "responsibility" gets different treatment for different people. These kids didnt come from immaculate conception- so where is outcry for men who "should not be procreating".
Mike Pence's white rural Indiana got an HIV epidemic out of his closing the Planned Parenthood where people got tested. If we need to think differently to get addicted kids back to sane lives lets do that and throw rocks later.
So "responsibility" gets different treatment for different people. These kids didnt come from immaculate conception- so where is outcry for men who "should not be procreating".
Mike Pence's white rural Indiana got an HIV epidemic out of his closing the Planned Parenthood where people got tested. If we need to think differently to get addicted kids back to sane lives lets do that and throw rocks later.
232
@ Anita, you are correct, these addicts haven't a care in the world, no job, they don't pay taxes, they have no jobs, they sit at home watching premium cable taking drugs and having babies. And we get to foot the bill. I have 0% sympathy for them.
12
I'm not sure what you want here. Do you think the child's birth should not be paid for? The mother wouldn't have the funds (probably), so the hospital would go unpaid if taxpayers didn't pay. Or would you allow the hospital to refuse service? That would lead to babies born in unsafe conditions, a greatly increased chance of maternal/infant death and injury. Is that something you want to choose?
Perhaps you want to deny support after the birth? When the child is most vulnerable to lack of food and shelter? How does it serve us all to have the child hungry and unclothed?
Perhaps you want to deny support after the birth? When the child is most vulnerable to lack of food and shelter? How does it serve us all to have the child hungry and unclothed?
10
To their credit, the Times revisited the "crack babies" epidemic a few years ago and admitted it was phony. The damage had already been done, though. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/booming/revisiting-the-crack-babies-ep...
9
Such symmetry in the story set in Kentucky, home of one of the meanest, most selfish lawmakers, Mitch McConnell. If people had jobs and meaning in their lives there would be less interest in taking drugs to find some happy place where every minute wasn't a battle with money, shelter and food. The policies of the wealthy who only want more wealth and don't care one bit how they get it, are as much a factor in the opioid epidemic as are the drug companies who flood the country with their product.
42
My understanding is that coal jobs are going to come flooding back. Then all of their problems will be solved.
10
You are naive.
And Bernie Madoff was poor?
And Bernie Madoff was poor?
1
My heart breaks for these babies, imagine being born addicted to OxyContin/heroin or anything. What kind of future will they have? Foster homes, health problems, inadequate education and opportunities?
As for the adults - do whatever you want, just don't bring kids into it.
As for the adults - do whatever you want, just don't bring kids into it.
8
Why aren't women who give birth to drug addicted babies offered IUDs or Norplant before being discharged? She never would have gotten pregnant with her second if she was on LARC after her first was born addicted.
246
Because that would make sense.
15
Do what is best for the baby. The addicted parent(s) needs should be separated from the child's needs. Once these addicted parents demonstrate they are clean and sober, then and only then should they be gradually reintroduced to their child. A second child while addicted should negate any parental rights.
16
Please, birth control. Please. No one here will have a functional life. No one.
274
Why are we not providing free birth control, free sterilization or vasectomies on demand?
Not under duress, not by force, but upon demand. Given the option, how many unprepared mothers would have chosen not to become pregnant in the first place?
Not under duress, not by force, but upon demand. Given the option, how many unprepared mothers would have chosen not to become pregnant in the first place?
310
Obamacare in fact mandates the free provision of contraception, including IUDs. Just another thing the Republicans are trying to take away in the name of, uh, freedom or something.
15
You can get free condoms at Planned Parenthood, but repugnant McConnell and Co. want to de-fund it. Funny how this is in his own backyard. Vote these old, closed minded white men out come 2018.
18
Free birth control has brought us to the lowest rate of teen pregnancy ever in the US, making sure it's available to those who are addicted would probably help reduce the pregnancy rate for them as well. You might have to go find them and offer it to them where they live, since their illness makes it difficult for them to think ahead. With IUD's and the long acting implants it could be very effective.
7
As a pediatrician, I've dealt with addicted babies and moms. They aren't addicts who happen to be related, they are mothers and babies who happen to be addicts.
At some point along the way, mom lost her free will, and addiction took over. It might have happened with the first hit ... or the 1,000th. An addict puts drugs first and her baby second. It's a "choice" driven by addiction, not moral failure.
That newborn NEEDS that particular mother after delivery. It's biology. Mom was her baby's universe. The sounds in her belly were what the baby heard, which is why the baby's gets quiet when her ear is on mom's chest.
Treat them together for as long as possible. If, and when, mom starts using again, she CAN'T meet baby's needs. We must step in then. Until then, treat them as the unit they are.
You'll get better babies out of the deal. And baby might help to keep mom clean.
At some point along the way, mom lost her free will, and addiction took over. It might have happened with the first hit ... or the 1,000th. An addict puts drugs first and her baby second. It's a "choice" driven by addiction, not moral failure.
That newborn NEEDS that particular mother after delivery. It's biology. Mom was her baby's universe. The sounds in her belly were what the baby heard, which is why the baby's gets quiet when her ear is on mom's chest.
Treat them together for as long as possible. If, and when, mom starts using again, she CAN'T meet baby's needs. We must step in then. Until then, treat them as the unit they are.
You'll get better babies out of the deal. And baby might help to keep mom clean.
204
A baby cannot be an addict. They're physically dependent. As a physician, you should know the difference between addiction and dependence.
An infant does not choose to have drugs in their system w whereas the mother did choose the behavior.
An infant does not choose to have drugs in their system w whereas the mother did choose the behavior.
4
Dear Dr. Swanson, You wrote, "You'll get better babies out of the deal. And baby might help to keep mom clean." With all due respect, you cannot possibly know the longer term result for the child. In the near term I agree that babies tend to do medically and emotionally better with their biological mothers. If these mothers lapse into and out of addiction over the longer term the damage to the developing child moving towards adulthood can be immeasureable and irreversible. What marker or indicator does medicine provide to help us distinguish between those neonates who overcome the disease and those who are damaged by it or its longer term sequelae? Isn't it possible that we may expect more from the infant than we do from the adult?
6
But it's not the baby's job to "fix" its mother.
12
Why doesn't the article mention the whereabouts of the person equally responsible for this child's existence? Why are the fathers always, always, ALWAYS let off the hook?
371
Because they disappear, because they are raised by mothers that don't tell them this is 100% unacceptable, because we make birth control the woman's responsibility and because it's not cheap or easy to acquire when you're already down and out, because men don't like condoms, because we don't teach birth control or sexual education, we teach abstinence, because while we have laws making it a crime to fail to support your child, we don't enforce the law.
11
In this instance: it's b/c when dad smokes/shoots/snorts heroin, it doesn't directly cause the addiction an entirely innocent baby. That's biology. Now, if dad's could get pregnant, we can all agree the rules would be different. Abortion, in fact, would probably be a sacrament in the church if men could get pregnant. But, so long as mom's intake of poison directly poison's another, there will never be equal treatment on this particular playing field.
2
Don't remind me. I still remember that piece about Jessica Schairer, the poor, white, unwed, single mother in Michigan raising three bi-racial children alone being juxtaposed with her married co-worker/manager. I refuse to believe that the NYT couldn't have tracked down and exposed the father of Jessica's kids.
9
Before a lot of medical and scientific discoveries when fate would take its course, people would say life is cruel. Now after we've wrested that away from natural fate through artificial means, why are we still finding life so cruel, especially for these innocent babies?
2
Since every prescription of opoids is recorded electronically, why not figure out who is supplying the market? Require this kind of prescription to be re-authorized every three months by a doctor? Peer review who is over subscribing and why? The supply side should be a solvable problem.
2
Indeed, such systems are being implemented. But if you read the article, you'd note that this mother was on *legal* and probably *court-mandated* treatment. Basically, suboxone and methadone and the like are still opioids in the sense that they prevent withdrawal symptoms, but they also don't get you high. The clients go into the clinic every day and those medications are administered by nurses. For the adults, it's long-term treatment. That sharply decreases the likelihood that the mom will use heroin or oxycontin or whatever, but still results in a newborn who is physiologically dependent and needs to be tapered off of the medications, balancing the need to get them off the meds as quickly as possible with the pain and suffering that too-rapid withdrawal entails.
8
There are countless numbers crowding our prisons for selling marijuana and I have never heard of anyone dying from a pot overdose. Or how about cocaine? It sounds like most of Hollywood, the financial industry, and the restaurant industry are users and doing their jobs just fine, but if you are caught selling cocaine (and black), you are in jail for life. Somehow if you are a white physician or pharmacist pumping out massive amounts of narcotics more powerful than heroin to people who don't actually need them, you are completely immune to prosecution.
3
I believe opioid prescriptions in NYS now have to be re-authorized every two weeks. Three months asking for trouble and dealing. Meds prob should be administered daily in a pharmacy. Addicts have in many cases already crossed several lines as have their MDs. I told my MD about terrible wrist pain last winter, her response was I'm not prescribing anything. (It was an arthritis flare and possibly some bruising of the bones.. It healed in about three months.) But maybe if the MDs had to write more scripts. they would dispense fewer drugs. ALSO ibuprofen is just as good an opioids for pain IMO-- but they don't relax you and they can upset your stomach. (600 -- a heavy and effective dose.) But are the kids sharing their meds and fortifying with heroin?? (marijuana I view as less problematic but I could be wrong... Legalize pot - it can act like a stupifier.. (more than a tranquillizer..) BIG discussion... poor little babies... and no parents may well NOT be the answer. HSS (homo sapiens sapiens) have been successfully reared by other than birth parents FOREVER. (Moses!)
1
Perhaps another benefit of keeping the addicted babies closer to their mothers would be those mothers witnessing the pain their newborns are suffering. The "real life" experience of what their addiction has done to another person might inspire them to do better, accept help, and repair their lives. For themselves and their children.
61
So in the end, when faced with the possible loss of custody of her new baby, the mother proved that she actually could muster the fortitude to stop using opioids. Good for her. It may seem callus, but the time to prove your potential is prior to pregnancy, or VERY early on in the pregnancy, prior to causing harm to the fetus/child (used cocaine in the first trimester!!). Ultimately, I think Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan should cover medical expenses to care for the child, since they shame women into carrying a pregnancy when they are not up to the task, and, if allowed, they would deny monies to get the moms off opioids, and to care for the child of such pregnancies.
11
You can't get off opiods while pregnant. There is a very high risk of miscarriage. Her continuing to use prescribed opiates under doctor supervision was safer than getting off opiates while pregnant.
23
Oh please, nothing stopped this woman from getting an abortion. She already has another child also born addicted. Money for drugs could have gotten her the abortion, or PP could have paid for it themselves.
30
You are writing that comment from Texas? How many clinics have closed in Texas and other republican states over the past few years? When women stop voting for men who hate them maybe there will be fewer babies being born into this hell.
24
I don't know. Yes, it is a form of abuse to be taking drugs while pregnant, but these drugs are so very addictive. From what I've read, they take control of one's mind and at a point, it doesn't feel to the user that there's much "choice." Plenty of violent criminals (domestic abusers) are routinely given shared custody of their children. There is a big different between willfully hurting others and being caught in an addiction.
5
That's addiction in general you describe. Yes, there are differences, but it is all relative to the individual, which is something "science" cannot take into account when doing studies (one cannot measure willpower, pain tolerance, etc., at least not very well).
My worry is we're stepping back to that "poor addict" mentality where the person is not responsible; he/she is simply addicted to the Satan Drug. It used to be Satan Alcohol and those who committed crimes or were in accidents and took lives (e.g., a car crash) were not at fault because being so inebriated, they didn't know any better.
While true (says the ex-drunk), it never, ever should be used to excuse one's behavior or one's actions.
You choose to use dope. You choose to drink. It is a bad choice. So fix it.
My worry is we're stepping back to that "poor addict" mentality where the person is not responsible; he/she is simply addicted to the Satan Drug. It used to be Satan Alcohol and those who committed crimes or were in accidents and took lives (e.g., a car crash) were not at fault because being so inebriated, they didn't know any better.
While true (says the ex-drunk), it never, ever should be used to excuse one's behavior or one's actions.
You choose to use dope. You choose to drink. It is a bad choice. So fix it.
13
How much pain are you in that you have to take oxy? Where are the doctors? They know how addictive this stuff is and yet they keep prescribing it. Are thy getting a kickback from the manufacturers? Give them Advil or Aspirin and tell them it's Oxy. This is beyond ridiculous.
5
"They know how addictive this stuff is and yet they keep prescribing it." This is a new urban legend. Doctors no longer routinely provide opioids and haven't for years. The amount provided after major surgery? Several days. Docs at pain clinics routinely drug test patients to screen out pill seekers; the focus is on PT, procedures, and anti-convulsants to control nerve pain. As Margot Talbot noted in her excellent New Yorker piece, much opioid addiction has devolved into heroin addiction - much cheaper, far easier to obtain.
5
With so many tiny victims, why is Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell spending his energy being the face of the anti-healthcare crowd?
200
It is amazing to hear the conversation in the media and society at large regarding opioid addiction. Where was all of this care and concern when you thought the problem of drugs was always an inner-city issue? The coded language and the pretense of care is noxious. Women who are this irresponsible should not get to parent a child. Pure and simple. The child is really better off without said parent. Ask yourself what you would say if the parent in question is the father or non-white. Then your double-standard is laid bare.
34
Agree 100%. I don't even know why her parents are getting custody. This baby should have been put up for adoption, even if the father is not available to give his consent.
12
This sort of thinking is insane. You really think this baby would be better off bouncing around the foster care system? Do you think that these babies just get automatically adopted into a loving and caring family? You really think this baby is better off with strangers than its own parents or grandparents? A child is better off with its parent in most cases, especially when a mother (like in this case) is trying to get it together.
9
I used to be an opiate addict and have been taking suboxone for 5 years.
It tore me apart to hear that addict woman saying shes trying to crash withdrawal from suboxone to get her daughter.
Chances are that if her first kid didnt get her clean, her second kid wont either. I would bet that she relapses. She should stop having kids and get abortions until she actually gets clean.
A couple months of suboxone will not help very much. I bet shes back using again within a few weeks. Opiates are pure evil and turn good people into horrible monsters. I hope this lady stays clean and gets her kids back, but I wouldnt hold me breath.
It tore me apart to hear that addict woman saying shes trying to crash withdrawal from suboxone to get her daughter.
Chances are that if her first kid didnt get her clean, her second kid wont either. I would bet that she relapses. She should stop having kids and get abortions until she actually gets clean.
A couple months of suboxone will not help very much. I bet shes back using again within a few weeks. Opiates are pure evil and turn good people into horrible monsters. I hope this lady stays clean and gets her kids back, but I wouldnt hold me breath.
122
I hope she uses birth control and the feckless men she's involved with show some concern for her. I won't hold my breath though.
83
Rather than get abortions if she gets pregnant again, she should get an IUD put in.
4
The men probably paid her, which is all she wanted. Though why any man would pay an addicted hooker is beyond me.
5
I tend to agree with the existentialist idea that we are what we choose to be. Newborn babies didn't choose addiction but their mothers did. Shame on them. Their babies are probably better off with adoptive families that can provide love and protection and teach them to respect themselves as well as others. The generational cycle of ignorance, immorality and irresponsibility has to end somewhere.
46
Adoption is not the answer. Birth control and prevention are.
35
How many people,are going to adopt a very damaged infant?
3
Here is a glimmer of hope for these little ones. The idea of teaching these moms how to parent their vulnerable infants is a good one. Prevention of abuse is so much better than intervention after abuse. Notably, so many of these babies are given a chance at life with Medicaid dollars, the same funds that Republicans (who claim to be pro-life) are trying to cut off.
Grandparents are wonderful supports for parents but few are ready to parent a child full time for the next 18 or more years. It makes sense to do all we can to help the mothers as they are in recovery and give them tools to be productive parents.
Grandparents are wonderful supports for parents but few are ready to parent a child full time for the next 18 or more years. It makes sense to do all we can to help the mothers as they are in recovery and give them tools to be productive parents.
52
It is nice to see articles about doctors thinking outside the box. Addiction is a terrible disease that affects families and there is no one size fits all treatment. Judgement and shaming do not work. If we truly want what is best for our fellow Americans, we need to use compassion and ingenuity to fashion different programs that work. Kudos to these doctors for truly caring - this is truly a program that can save lives.
88
This article speaks to the value of meeting people where they are. For the babies, they need a solid start to life. For the moms, they deserve a second chance. For the families, they should be kept together if possible. It can be difficult for doctors to do this because they struggle to empathize and focus on the biomedical side of care. The situation is messy but this is hopeful and I am hopeful. Hopeful for babies of opioid-users to go on to lead productive and happy lives, hopeful for moms to have a reason to get and stay clean, and hopeful for this epidemic to be handled as much as it can be.
33
But what happens when one of these women has 8 drug-addicted babies?
12
A second chance? This is her second baby! The best chance for these babies is to be put up for adoption and be given a truly good chance at life. An addict always has a reason to use and this woman already saw what happened to her first child. That's not lesson enough?
16
She got a second chance, and she blew it. They should not let this woman anywhere near either of these children. Why are we willing to let tiny babies go home with addicts and "hope" it all works out? Have we all lost our minds?
19
We would have known this all along if only we’d learned from a previous “Worst-Drug-Plauge-Ever” – crack cocaine.
In 1998, University of Florida researchers studied two groups of children born with cocaine in their systems; one group was placed in foster care, another left with birth mothers able to care for them. After six months, the babies were tested using all the usual measures of infant development: rolling over, sitting up, reaching out. Consistently, the children left with their birth mothers did better. For the foster children, the separation from their mothers was more toxic than the cocaine.
It is extremely difficult to take a swing at so-called “bad mothers” without the blow landing on their children. But every few years, when the next “Worst Drug Plague Ever” hits, we come out swinging. In this case, we have a mother who was actually in treatment, but Kentucky child protective services authorities were more interested in punishing her than in what was really best for her child.
Richard Wexler
Executive Director
National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
www.nccpr.org
In 1998, University of Florida researchers studied two groups of children born with cocaine in their systems; one group was placed in foster care, another left with birth mothers able to care for them. After six months, the babies were tested using all the usual measures of infant development: rolling over, sitting up, reaching out. Consistently, the children left with their birth mothers did better. For the foster children, the separation from their mothers was more toxic than the cocaine.
It is extremely difficult to take a swing at so-called “bad mothers” without the blow landing on their children. But every few years, when the next “Worst Drug Plague Ever” hits, we come out swinging. In this case, we have a mother who was actually in treatment, but Kentucky child protective services authorities were more interested in punishing her than in what was really best for her child.
Richard Wexler
Executive Director
National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
www.nccpr.org
415
Could you please provide a citation? Thank you.
3
Well said and well worth that as many people know the results of such studies to further push what is obviously best for both Mother and Baby , especially the baby.
However as a father with no experience other than being one to my 3 children ....I wrote a post that completely argued the same findings and points that came from the study you mentioned before reading your post (or anyone elses for that matter)
My point being that it really is just basic common sense and more than obvious what things and natural opportunities are best for a baby and why.
I do not understand why for this latest societal crisis and its implications for addicted babies needed anything learned or remembered was learnt from a previous drug crisis study.
We should already have known what obviously was and is best for a baby and in most cases , also its Mother as they provide and are the mutual benefit to each other that both need and exist for each other as and for both to best be.
However as a father with no experience other than being one to my 3 children ....I wrote a post that completely argued the same findings and points that came from the study you mentioned before reading your post (or anyone elses for that matter)
My point being that it really is just basic common sense and more than obvious what things and natural opportunities are best for a baby and why.
I do not understand why for this latest societal crisis and its implications for addicted babies needed anything learned or remembered was learnt from a previous drug crisis study.
We should already have known what obviously was and is best for a baby and in most cases , also its Mother as they provide and are the mutual benefit to each other that both need and exist for each other as and for both to best be.
Pharmaceutical companies and the medical prescribers should be held accountable to this . My 20 year old son took his life after being prescribed in to addiction as a treatment for IBD . This epidemic is not going away any time soon and the effect of to will be felt for generations to come .. And it's driven by greed
67
Not so easy to play the blame game here. Just a few years back, the powers that be in the medical community were giving primacy to pain management. Pain relief was the mantra. The rest -- doctors, drug companies, distributors -- simply followed that lead. Liberal prescriptions followed. It's not like they wrote them to addicts with instructions to snort or inject. There is no way to control distribution once seemingly legitimate patients get hold of it. Once the epidemic was realized, the FDA and the states were too slow to act. Instead of addressing the root causes of addiction and seeking better ways of prevention and cure, they are still playing the blame game. Cha-ching is the name of the game now.
4
This sad, touching, but ultimately hopeful article reminds me of the words of our beloved neighbor Mister Rogers, "Parents don't come full bloom at the birth of their first baby. In fact, parenting is about growing. It's about our own growing as much as our children's growing, and that kind of growing happens little by little. It's tempting to think "a little" isn't significant and that only "a lot" matters. But most things that are important in life start very small and change very slowly, and they don't come with fanfare and bright lights."
90
Sorry Mr. Rogers, but there's a big difference between "full bloom" and the opiate addicted parents in this article who have had multiple children without any evidence of "growth" or improvement.
21
People really believe that a mother who committed child abuse by continuously taking drugs while pregnant could or even should be the ones to take care of that same baby as it goes through a painful detox? Are you kidding me? Those women should be appropriately charged and arrested.
54
I agree. Getting pregnant while addicted to an opoiod, then complaining that it's not "fair" when the baby is taken away, is the heighth...or depth...of irresponsibility. And then there's the expense to the tax-payers. Unbelievable.
31
The drugs she took while she was pregnant were prescribed to treat her addiction. You cannot take a pregnant woman off of opioids completely. That is more harmful to the baby. I pray for recovery for the mom.
19
Get off your high horse and read the article. It is all about what worked best for he newborn. Yes monitor the mother, and take the kids immediately if she relapses, but in the meantime the baby heals faster. Under your plan we also get to pay to keep the mother in jail instead of in treatment. How dumb can you get.
79
Sorry Ms Clay, but taking this child from you is "fair." We all have failings, but letting yourself become pregnant while being an addict is inexcusable. You should never be allowed to gain custody of your children from your parents. I am just glad these children have their grandparents.
120
Never is a long time.
11
I have been a social worker for many years. I am empathic and believe I give my all to clients, while maintaining healthy boundaries. Yet, as a professional and a mother I relate to addicts in the most negative way. They are manipulative, creating havoc all around them and they are well aware of what they are doing. I've never known of an addict who did not severely damage their child/children. The innocents have no chance of a normal, healthy life. If you are responsible for children, don't use. Just don't do it. Stop or don't procreate. I will treat the most seriously ill, but not addicts.
54
Hm. I agree with you that it is unwise to become pregnant when you're not really in a position to take good care of an infant... but...
* Opioid treatment is typically very long-term (years on end -- the medications involved tend to be used in a maintenance mode)
* Birth control is not free, and not always easily available, to women in low income brackets (and men don't often cooperate with a woman's request to wear a condom, cf "stealthing.")
* And sex is not always voluntary, particularly in the same sort of urban-chaos environments in which people become addicted in the first place.
In my training in clinical psychology, I treated hundreds of women just like this mom. They had been getting chronically sexually and physically abused, typically by the boyfriends of their moms, often being sold to drug pushers for sex, since young *childhood* -- the idea of a healthy consensual sexual relationship was something that was very hard to learn and then very hard for them to set limits about while they were stuck living in those same spaces. Working with them around the trauma was a key part of treatment. But along the way, they were getting involved with guys who were themselves also coming from that chaotic environment -- even the ones who weren't trying to be abusive or controlling also really didn't know how to have a good relationship. Most were just like the prior abusers, and the boundary between sex and rape was pretty thin, if it existed at all.
* Opioid treatment is typically very long-term (years on end -- the medications involved tend to be used in a maintenance mode)
* Birth control is not free, and not always easily available, to women in low income brackets (and men don't often cooperate with a woman's request to wear a condom, cf "stealthing.")
* And sex is not always voluntary, particularly in the same sort of urban-chaos environments in which people become addicted in the first place.
In my training in clinical psychology, I treated hundreds of women just like this mom. They had been getting chronically sexually and physically abused, typically by the boyfriends of their moms, often being sold to drug pushers for sex, since young *childhood* -- the idea of a healthy consensual sexual relationship was something that was very hard to learn and then very hard for them to set limits about while they were stuck living in those same spaces. Working with them around the trauma was a key part of treatment. But along the way, they were getting involved with guys who were themselves also coming from that chaotic environment -- even the ones who weren't trying to be abusive or controlling also really didn't know how to have a good relationship. Most were just like the prior abusers, and the boundary between sex and rape was pretty thin, if it existed at all.
8