Drug Testing For Newborns

Ok, so I'm a first time mom, and I know this sounds horrible, but I've used cocaine a few times during pregnancy. I'm 23 weeks now, and was just wondering if it will show up in the baby's system if they drug test him?? I know, I know, I sound like a horrible mom, but I've struggled with drug abuse for about 6 years and got clean about a year ago; my problem was never with cocaine, but I'm focused on being a good mom to this sweet little boy and don't want anything to happen to him.... Thanks for any input!

[AnnieBrooke]

Here is from another website.  It sounds like even if you stop now and never do it again, the worry is not whether the baby will be tested and you will be caught, but that there are bad effects of cocaine on the child.

"Studies show that women who use cocaine during pregnancy are at least twice as likely as other women to have a premature baby. And because cocaine cuts the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus, the baby may be much smaller at birth than it would be otherwise. Cocaine-exposed babies also tend to have smaller heads, which might indicate a smaller brain. These problems appear more commonly in babies of women who use cocaine throughout pregnancy than in babies whose mothers stop using the drug in the first trimester.

"Cocaine use also may cause the placenta to pull away from the wall of the uterus before labor begins. This condition, placental abruption, can lead to extensive bleeding and can be fatal for both the mother and her baby. (Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy also are at increased risk of placental abruption.)  The drug also may increase other complications of labor and delivery.

"Low birthweight can result from poor growth before birth, premature birth, or a combination of both. Low-birthweight babies are 20 times more likely to die in their first month than normal-weight babies. Those who survive are at increased risk of lifelong disabilities including mental disabilities, cerebral palsy, visual and hearing impairment.

"Some studies suggest that cocaine-exposed babies are at increased risk of birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that mothers who used cocaine early in pregnancy were five times as likely to have a baby with a malformation of the urinary tract as mothers who do not use the drug.

"A number of studies have found that cocaine-exposed babies tend to score poorly on tests given at birth to assess the newborn's physical condition and overall responsiveness. They do not do as well as unexposed babies on measures of motor ability and reflexes, attention and mood control, and they appear less likely to respond to a human face or voice.

"We do not know all of the special problems that these children will face. Some, but not all, studies suggest that they may have a greater-than-normal chance of dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The cocaine, in conjunction with other practices that often accompany cocaine use, may contribute to these deaths.

"Recent studies suggest that these children may lag behind unexposed peers in motor skills, at least through two years of age.  Most affected appear to be fine motor skills, such as those used in learning to write, draw or play sports.

"Most children who were exposed to cocaine before birth have normal intelligence. This is encouraging, in light of earlier predictions that many of these children would be severely brain-damaged."

[AnnieBrooke]

Here is from another website.  It sounds like even if you stop now and never do it again, the worry is not whether the baby will be tested and you will be caught, but that there are bad effects of cocaine on the child.

"Studies show that women who use cocaine during pregnancy are at least twice as likely as other women to have a premature baby. And because cocaine cuts the flow of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus, the baby may be much smaller at birth than it would be otherwise. Cocaine-exposed babies also tend to have smaller heads, which might indicate a smaller brain. These problems appear more commonly in babies of women who use cocaine throughout pregnancy than in babies whose mothers stop using the drug in the first trimester.

"Cocaine use also may cause the placenta to pull away from the wall of the uterus before labor begins. This condition, placental abruption, can lead to extensive bleeding and can be fatal for both the mother and her baby. (Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy also are at increased risk of placental abruption.)  The drug also may increase other complications of labor and delivery.

"Low birthweight can result from poor growth before birth, premature birth, or a combination of both. Low-birthweight babies are 20 times more likely to die in their first month than normal-weight babies. Those who survive are at increased risk of lifelong disabilities including mental disabilities, cerebral palsy, visual and hearing impairment.

"Some studies suggest that cocaine-exposed babies are at increased risk of birth defects. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that mothers who used cocaine early in pregnancy were five times as likely to have a baby with a malformation of the urinary tract as mothers who do not use the drug.

"A number of studies have found that cocaine-exposed babies tend to score poorly on tests given at birth to assess the newborn's physical condition and overall responsiveness. They do not do as well as unexposed babies on measures of motor ability and reflexes, attention and mood control, and they appear less likely to respond to a human face or voice.

"We do not know all of the special problems that these children will face. Some, but not all, studies suggest that they may have a greater-than-normal chance of dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The cocaine, in conjunction with other practices that often accompany cocaine use, may contribute to these deaths.

"Recent studies suggest that these children may lag behind unexposed peers in motor skills, at least through two years of age.  Most affected appear to be fine motor skills, such as those used in learning to write, draw or play sports.

"Most children who were exposed to cocaine before birth have normal intelligence. This is encouraging, in light of earlier predictions that many of these children would be severely brain-damaged."

[BsMommy0405]

Thanks for the information; I've actually read a lot on the effects of it... I just did a couple of lines altogether, so I didn't consider that to be so crucial to my child... Don't know what the hell I was thinking, but I appreciate your post.

[Clysta]

ANY amount is detrimental. One is beyond enough, let alone multiple ones. You need to talk to your doctor, because drug use is present in the bowel movements of the baby, as well as hair follicles. You need to be upfront and honest with your doctor NOW about your use, and they will be able to take proper precautions when the baby is born, if any problems should arise. They will also be able to get you the help you need to stay clean--because regardless of whether you were in the past or not, it obviously did not work if you did it while pregnant.

[AnnieBrooke]

I think the research on babies born to cocaine-using mothers may have been done on habitual users, which helps you a little if you really did only "a couple of lines altogether."  But beware of minimizing things to yourself -- as you certainly know, the tendency to downplay is not uncommon for someone who struggles with using.  Plan to talk to your doctor about it for sure, and when getting ready, make specific and honest notes of exact dates and how much, and relate it to how pregnant you were at the time, so the doctor can give you his or her best professional advice.  A whole lot will doubtless depend on exactly what stage of the pregnancy you were when you did the cocaine; babies are much more susceptible to damage at certain times than others.  I don't know if hair samples would be taken and if cocaine shows up in them, but the real issue is the care of the baby, and your inability to think of saying no when something so obvious is in front of you with such clear consequences.  Along with talking to your doctor, I would talk to a counselor, and explore why on earth you said yes to something like cocaine when you say you value the baby.  I say this not to be punitive but because I'm concerned it will happen again in some way.  You need to address the habit of saying yes to dangerous drugs overall, so you can be a good mom.  Otherwise you are at risk if you have a colicky baby or even just a bad day where other moms would just cry or ask for help from their sister.  You don't want to struggle with temptation then.

Good luck, honey.  So many of us would kill to be able to get pregnant just once more.  Please don't throw it away, for yourself, the baby, and even for us who can't go there and want to.

[AnnieBrooke]

Well, not kill.  LOL  

Said better, I meant so many of us would sacrifice anything, and in fact almost have sacrificed everything (marriages, money, energy, surgeries, our future health, emotions and effort) to get pregnant again, and you have done it.  For you, your baby, and even for the fact that pregnancy is such a miracle, get the help you need to beat the cycle.  Maybe you've had drug counseling, but it's obviously not doing enough if even the obvious cue of a pregnancy was not enough to cause you to think at that moment that you should not use.  Your present counseling situation and support (and life situation -- who was offering you coke when you were pregnant?) are not getting you out of it.  Find a better counselor and get working on it all, including where you live and who you see, before any more time goes by.

Again, good luck.

[BsMommy0405]

Thanks again for the advice, and I know I need help with temptation... Like just bc it was there, I did it :( But if I do tell my doctors, won't my child be taken as soon as he's born bc of child endangerment laws??

[Clysta]

Not if you talk to them now and be completely honest about everything. If you do not, yes you will lose the child. If you also do not prove that you're working on it after the baby is born they will take the child.

I'm not sure why you're around cocaine while pregnant, and if it's people you are close to you need to distance yourself from them. If god forbid something came out wrong with the child because of your drug use, you would never forgive yourself for it. Don't live with that.

[AnnieBrooke]

If you really are in counseling and have gotten clean and moved away from the people you used to hang with and all, they won't take the baby away in two or three months when it is born.  But you really do have to be doing that, it can't just be promises.  You're obviously in a world where you're around cocaine, if you don't deal with this now you're guaranteed for a much worse world of hurt later.  Babies are hard 24/7 work -- if you can't deal with temptation now you really won't be able to once the baby has cried all day and all night and refused to eat and you've run out of diapers and haven't had a shower for two days and can't even get the dishes washed and are worried about money.  PLEASE take this seriously, like, today.  If you know you need help with temptation, get help now.  You will be that many times more tempted under the later stresses to come.