methadone and pregnancy

[msstephenson]

Im currently 35 weeks pregnant,i have been on methadone for 12 months now with no opiate relapses.i didnt find out i was pregnant until i was about 20 weeks and i was smoking pot cuz i was soo sick all day everyday and no medical doctor knew why,then through a blood test we found out i was pregnant,i continuied to smoke maijuanna but was weining myself off of it,i was completly done and gave it up by 25 weeks now im 35 weeks and worried about explaining this when they test either my daughters meconium or urine,i wasnt using every day but most jus one or two small hits,i was never big on smoking pot so i really never had a heavy habit,does anyone kno if the maijuanna i smoked will show up in my daughters drug screening or what kind of drug screening pa does meconium vs urine?

[Ashelen]

I think pot does stay in your system for a long time, but I don't see why they would drug test your baby if he/she is born healthy. Is your methadone prescribed? If the baby comes out sluggish or showing signs of withdrawal from the methadone then they will ask you, and possibly test, but if you're still taking it when the baby's born you have to tell so that they can monitor for withdrawals from the baby or it can be dangerous...but I don't think they test for pot as a general rule, not sure. Not a pot-smoker myself but I have several friends who were, and one who smoked pot during her pregnancy, and she was never tested at birth.

[spade22]

Yes it will.

[msstephenson]

of course im prescribed methadone from a doctor,all of my obgyn's know of my dosage and everything,i kno they drug test me and the baby jus wondering if it will still be in the babys system,its not in mine and never did show up on a drug screening that i get once a month!i really didnt smoke much!and my baby wont come out sluggish from the medicine im on the baby will be closly monitored!

[msstephenson]

do u kno this for sure?even if it wasnt alot and i havent smoked for a while?

[nursekim]

I would be more concedrned with the methadone that you are currently taking than the pot you smoked 10 weeks ago.  It is very possible that your baby will/can come out sluggish secondary to the methadone.  If your are testing negative for pot, the baby, if tested, will also be negative for pot.

[msstephenson]

thanx,what do u mean by slugglish b/c my doctors are saying that at the dose im at right now my baby has a 10 percent chance of having withdrawls but everybody that on methadone and pregnant there body adapts differently and also does the babys,they said it depends how much actually crosses over through the placenta.do u know what kind of drug screenings they use for infants if its the meconium or urine,i read that the meconium will show up anything as early as the first 20 weeks and the urine not long at all,i take urine test every two weeks and have never had a negative!

[Ashelen]

sluggish in the sense that they're slow to respond to stimuli, they may get a lower APGAR score, and they may have depressed breathing capabilities. your doctors may be willing/eager to help you lower your dose before delivery since obviously with methadone you can't stop altogether and the less in your system the better, talk it over with them. they never drug screened my baby even though at two points during the pregnancy I had to take painkillers for kidney stones, so maybe they won't test yours even if they do test you. Don't know sorry...good luck.

[nursekim]

My concern for your baby right after birth would be excess sleepiness and low respirations.  He/she might not come out as alert and breathing as easily as a "normal" newborn and will definitely need to be watched closer. Your baby will not likely start to display withdrawl symptoms until she is over 24 hours old or soif she does at all.

I do not honestly know what kind of drug screenings they use for infants.

Were you not honest with your physican about the pot use?

What are you using the methadone for if you dont mind me asking?

[msstephenson]

i was honest with my doctors about the marijuanna use i told them before i even found out i was pregnant then when i did find out they told me to taper myself off of it,whitch i did,im on the methadone because after my first son i got really bad depression and was using pain pills,to hide my feelings and not feel them,a previous to my first pregnancy i was raped and abducted and took it out on myself and never really delt with it,until about a year or so ago when i started counciling,my doctors know of my depression after my first baby and there gonna get me started on antidepressants as soon as i have the baby b/c it was sooo bad the first time.also i talked with my doctor about having no opiates b/c im afraid it might trigger something in the brain and send me back to where i was and im doing sooo good right now i dont want to take that chance,my doctor said they can give me different meds for pain,im having a csection nov.30 and last week i found out that theres a opiate in the spinal that they give ya so i dont really kno where to go from here with that!

[martikadragoon]

Marajuana takes about 40 days to be out of someones system for a heavy user. A mild user takes anywhere from 7-40 days... it depends on the body, and how efficiently it clears stuff from the body.

If they test the babies muconium it'll show anything youve taken your entire pregnancy, but most dr's don't test muconium they test urine.
There IS an opiate in the spinal, however because of how it's done most ppl don't experience the effects or high of it. I am in pain mgmt for a back injury (actually something called a sacral illiac injury) and get drug tested also.

if you have a prior known addiction to opiates (which I suspect is why your on methadone right?) then they may test baby.
With opiates and methadone, if it's taken right around when baby is born baby can have depressed breathing requiring a bit of oxygen and baby can also suffer withdrawals but those can be managed relatively easily.

[spade22]

I agree with the others - it depends on what part of your baby they test.  Several things (muconium, hair) will be able to detect THC.

[msstephenson]

im pretty sure they do test the babys urine b/c my brothers x jus had a baby at the same hospital im having my daughter at,she also had a girl,she said they taped a bag on her in her diaper to collect the urine but i have thought maybe they dont really know what thier talkin about.i dont kno i jus thought it would be easier to put a bag on a boy but very difficult on a girl,is there a chance that really might have happened?is it possible to collect urine from a female newborn,theres really nothing u can tape around,u kno like with a male u can place the penis in the bag and tape around that,,i jus dont get how they would collect urine from a female infant...

[Ashelen]

if they really want to they can straight-cath her, but most likely if they want to test they'll use the amniotic fluid...never heard of the bag but I suppose it's possible...

[martikadragoon]

msstephenson~ Yes, it's possible to collect urine from a female. even in a male they don't tape the bag to his genitals but around them. it's the same process for a female baby. they put the tape/adhesive on the pubic area and upper thighs. then when baby gives out a sufficient amt of urine they remove the bag. It's normally not anything that'll cause pain or harm to baby.