One of the most upsetting situations for counselors at drug rehab centers is when expecting mothers are addicted to drugs. For pregnant women addicted to opiates, the typical course of action for most doctors is to put them on methadone. However, there are forums of nurses who say that infants born to mothers on methadone have much more severe withdrawal symptoms than other opiates, which also is the same for adults that have a methadone addiction.
We have had mothers of newborns who had to go through methadone withdrawal as well as family members contact us and describe the sheer agony that these young lives go through, and as many of us are parents, it is pure hell to imagine inflicting that sort of pain on a baby that has only been alive for a few hours or days.
The problem is that most detox centers will not accept pregnant women for fear of the liability of withdrawing them and possibly causing more damage to the unborn child, yet the drug that doctors recommend is more damaging physically than most prescription painkillers. Sure there has to be some other solution that can be developed to get both the mother and the unborn infant safely and effectively off of all opiates prior to birth.