While there are various treatments to fight off addiction, it gets complicated when one is pregnant. Contrary to what most believe, it is best to undergo medical-assisted therapy rather than complete withdrawal to minimize harmful effects on the baby.
A huge problem - pregnancy and addiction - the road to family #health https://t.co/H67OzAYxQv #healthcare
— Ben Miller (@miller7) March 28, 2016
Personal accounts reported by NPR and CBS News reveal how hard it is for pregnant women to seek medical help to treat their heroin addiction. Amanda Hensley and Chelsea Blackburn both started their addiction during their teenage years. Both of them were on heroin when they found they're pregnant. Despite being pregnant, they couldn't quit their addiction.
Heroin Addiction
In Hensley's case, it was hard to look for professional help to combat her addiction. Although she wanted to stop her addiction, she isn't sure how. Her friends would help her find drugs even after knowing she's pregnant. Hensley has developed a preference for Percocet and morphine, and over the years, she has turned to heroin when she's short on cash.
In Blackburn's case, she lost custody of her two kids because of her addiction. Like Hensley, she started abusing pain killers and by the age of 19, she was a full-blown heroin addict.
Road to Remission
Hensley got rejected by two hospitals before she got proper treatment from MetroHealth System in Cleveland's safety-net hospital where she was prescribed with Subutex, an opioid-replacement drug to help her recover. Contrary to what most believe, abrupt withdrawal is discouraged, especially in the case of pregnant women. They should undergo medical-assisted therapy if possible. Likewise, the baby had undergone gradual withdrawal—administering liquid morphine to the baby after she was born to minimize withdrawal effects.
Meanwhile, Blackburn sought help from the Magee-Womens Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The hospital has catered to 350 pregnant heroin addicts in 2012 alone. The center started a Pregnancy Recovery Center in 2014. Just like the medical-assisted therapy Hensley got, Blackburn was gradually tapered off heroin with a replacement drug called Buprenorphine. It gives the satisfaction of opioid without getting high.
Medical-Assisted Therapy
According to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Hensley and Blackburn both received the correct treatment, NPR says. Pregnant women should undergo medical-assisted therapy, where opioid is temporarily replaced by more stable drugs like methadone.
Abrupt withdrawal or quitting cold turkey is discouraged as it can cause adverse effect to the infants. It could increase chances of premature births or fetal death.
Each year, there's an increase of opioid addiction among pregnant women. There's an urgent need for the medical community to provide proper treatment for substance abuse patients. To know more about opioid addiction, check out the video below:
