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Pregnant and wanting to get off of methadone........

I just found out I am about 5 weeks pregnant. I was really excited about being a new mother except for the fact that I am on methadone. I have been on it since January 2010 (11 months). During the summer, I was at 120 mg.. I ended up going into a detox to possibly get off of it and ended up going down to 24 mg. I am at 35 mg. now because I was getting withdrawal symptoms and heard the baby's detox can be worse if you withdraw during the pregnancy. When I told my boyfriend I was pregnant, he seemed excited but told me the methadone was his only concern. Now, 2 weeks after telling him it comes up the other night that he doesn't think it's a good idea of having a baby while being on methadone. I was devistated. I hated the thought of being on it while carrying but he made me feel like it would be really selfish to stay on it and what he thinks, start a baby off with a "handicap". I told him I've heard you cannot detox and go down while pregnant and that it is dangerous, possibly deadly for the baby. His point in having the conversation we did the other night (which should have happened the night I told him I was pregnant) was that I should detox. I told him the only option is to 1, either have the baby and have it have to be detoxed or 2, have the pregnancy terminated. I HATE the thought of not being able to keep the baby. I know I'm going to always regret it if I don't go along with the pregnancy and if I do go along with it, I'm always going to feel bad for the thought that I did start it off addicted and I'll always have the thought that it's father really didnt think it should be born. Not because he doesn't want it but because he doesn't want it being on a drug like that. He has a daughter and he told me that she had to stay in the hospital longer when she was born because his ex smoked cigarettes with her and she was born premature and had to be put on machines. He said he does not want to go through that and doesn't want me to either. I understand his concern and know he only has good intentions but it upsets me that he waited 2 weeks for me to be really excited to spring this upon me because he didn't want to hurt my feelings when we first talked about it. I told him it hurts more now than it would have before. Does anyone know if there's a way you can detox while pregnant? Or does anyone have any suggestions or any input? I appreciate any advice and info. I can get. Thanks :)
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Avatar universal
Hi! I am also pregnant and am on methadone. If you are pregnant and on methadone there is absolutely NO reason why you shouldn't go ahead and have your baby if you want to! Admittedly at first i thought the best thing to do might be to get off of it but this was not the case. My husband was also worried about me being on methadone (and so was i) until we became educated on what that means for mother and baby. Here is what i have found out. It is perfectly safe and ok to take methadone while pregnant. It is not recommended to get off methadone once pregnant. Here are the pros and cons and in my opinion the pros outweigh the cons.
The downside is that your baby will most likely experience some withdrawal once born and will have to receive special treatment in the hospital to ween off of it. Methadone has been widely studied and used sense the 60s for pregnant women with opiate addiction. It is perfectly safe for baby and does not cause any problems for mother or child. No birth defects or complications except for the baby having to detox in hospital and the fact that some women's babies have a lower birth weight though it is not clear weather this is due to lifestyle or the methadone itself.
If you become pregnant while taking methadone and want to have the baby, what is recommended by doctors is that you stay on it. It does not help to go down on your dose either. what is healthiest is to stay at a dose that keeps you from having any discomfort. In fact, you may need to increase your dose a little. some women do not need to and others do, usually by the 3rd trimester. Withdrawal is much more risky for having a miscarriage and loosing the baby where being on methadone you are not risking this at all. Continuing to take your methadone and taking good care of yourself, under the care of a doctor will insure that you have a healthy baby. It is important to be extra careful to eat well to ensure a healthy birth weight. Staying on your methadone will also ensure that you do not relapse on whatever it was you were taking to get you on methadone in the first place and that you are comfortable and withdrawal free during your pregnancy.
Women who are on methadone and feel they need it and also want to have children decide to get pregnant and have healthy babies on it every year. You may feel bad and like you are doing something wrong to your baby by making it go through withdrawal after birth which is obviously not ideal but remember, babies are very resilient and recover quickly and will have a much easier time detoxing than you would especially while pregnant when everything is more intense. Their brains are not very developed yet and will not experience the withdrawal the same way you would or remember it or be traumatized by it, or even have problems down the road because of it. To them it is like having a some cold symptoms. the hospital will treat them depending on the severity or their withdrawal. some babies need some medication and if your comfortable with it you can take them home after a few days to complete the weening process. Breast feeding is also ok when on methadone. The amount of methadone in the breast milk is so small that doctors say that the benefit of breastfeeding are worth exposing the baby to a tiny amount of methadone.
If you are feeling upset because your boyfriend is not wanting you to have the baby because you are on methadone, make sure he knows the facts and that it is no reason not to have your baby. hundreds of women have healthy babies on it every year. I told my husband that i wanted to keep the baby (he did too) and it is my body and I am going to do what is best for the baby and me. We are a little nervous about how things will be at the hospital and we don't want our baby to go through anything hard, but we are very excited about having our little girl. I am 7 months pregnant and have had a healthy happy pregnancy so far. Just make sure your OB knows and that the hospital knows you are on methadone when you go to give birth because the baby may need treatment and this complicates your pain management a bit. Women on methadone experience pain the same as a woman taking none during birth so you may still want some help with the pain and there is no reason the hospital shouldn't give you pain meds, they just need to know and you should continue taking your usual dose while in the hospital. Either bring your take homes from the clinic and if you cant do that, the hospital can talk to your doctor and give it to you.
So all in all, continuing your methadone is the best thing to do when pregnant and there is nothing wrong with it. So relax and try to enjoy this amazing part of being a woman! Take comfort in knowing that you are doing whats best. I know a woman who had all three of her children while on methadone and they are all healthy and happy! Good luck to any women out there who are having babies on methadone. It can be scary and stressful but i know i am doing the right thing and am very excited about having my little girl. Soon I will have experience about what the baby goes through after birth so feel free to ask!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I def understand what your going through. I am 9 weeks pregnant and am offically detoxed from methadone,.I was on 14 mg when I found out. I did alot of research online and finally found an OB site that showed results from other woman that had been detoxed while pregnant,..the most important thing is to take it very slow if you choose to detox. I came down 2 mg  every three days and that worked for me but everyone is different,..I have had insomina and anxiety but other than that I feel relieved now that it's over,..I'm not 100% yet but I feel better everyday. I'm not saying this is def what you should do. I'm no Dr. But I'm telling you what worked for me,.  But whatever you choose to do just know that woman have healthy happy babies all the time while on methadone,.it's a scary thing to think you could be harming your baby I know this for sure but you do have options,..congrats and best of luck to you....
Helpful - 0
1330108 tn?1333677304
Never ever stop methadone while pregnant!!  It leads to miscarriage and still birth. You rather your baby be alive but have withdrawal symptoms than be dead.
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1244180 tn?1325899111
there are many woman that go through their whole pregnancies while on Methadone and end up with healthy babies.... The baby will most likely go through withdrawl when born, but I really dont think that this is a reason to terminate especially considering that you do really want to have the baby... schedule an appt with a DR asap to talk about it and the effects that it could have on the baby... you dont want to live a life time of regret because you terminate when you really dont want to...
I wish you luck
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Avatar universal
Thanks everyone for your input. I really appreciate it. :)  I'm going to keep my appointment I have and see what options there are out there.
Helpful - 0
1533128 tn?1292938312
I agree with the other posts.  See a doctor, even if its a walk-in clinic and ask some questions from a professional.  I know this doesn't help, but Anna Nicole Smith was struggling with methadone while pregnant.  I thought her little girl might of had some difficulties because of it,  but talk to a doctor.  

As for your discission, it's yours to make.  It's difficult to make decision for  a baby when you know that the decisions you've made for yourself haven't always worked out.  Talk to a doctor and get the information you need to make an informed decision for you and your baby. I hope things work out for you.
Helpful - 0
1510919 tn?1298825067
agree. talking to an OB would be your best bet for you and baby
Helpful - 0
1294482 tn?1354489288
Im so sorry that you are going through this and can imagine it would be really hard. I don't know anything about it but I think the best thing you can do is talk to a Dr and find out what they think. They can at least give you the facts and help you to make the best decision for you. Good luck.
Helpful - 0
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