Demerol during pregnancy

  My wife has been administered IM and IV demerol (ranging between 50 to
  150 total dose for each ER visit) approximately a dozen times (maybe
  a slightly higher number of visits) during her pregnancy.  The baby's
  due date is March 21, 1999.  The demerol has been given during each
  trimester (fairly equally during each one) for migraines, and during the
  last month in an attempt to alleviate the pain resulting from the baby
  being on her siatic (sciatic) (spelling?) nerve (right side). Even though each of
  the many doctors have stated that the demerol will not have any negative
  effect on the baby, the fact that she received so much demerol basically
  throughout the pregnancy is a concern.  Given the above information,
  what is your opinion, is there anything to worry about? Please provide
  any knowledge, information, facts etc. Thank you. Don Derraugh

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Dear Don Derraugh:
There are no data that associate demerol with development problems.
Chronic narcotic use can be addictive to both mother and baby: hence, the pediatricians need to be aware of chronic use so that they can watch for symptoms of withdrawal in the newborn interval.
There are no long-term follow up studies on demerol use because it is an uncommon agent to which people become addicted. Followup of babies born to mothers who used "street durgs" during pregnancy suggest learning disabilities and difficult integration into society.
Keywords: demerol use in pregnancy
This information is provided for education purposes only and is not a medical consultation. If you have specificquestions, please speak with your physician.