Effects of Heroin

The Effects Of Heroin On Babies

Dorothy Huther
AAST
Oct.16,2014

Effects of Heroin

The Effects Of Heroin On Babies

Heroin has a negative effects on babies, born and unborn. Studies were
conducted to see how it harms babies when in and out of the womb. Those studies
show that heroin does have mental and physical side effects. It is important to research
this to see how doctors can stop the problems that it is causing. A possible way that can
stop these effects can from happening are using methadone they are similar, but may
not have as strong of side effects. Another possible solution is not giving the mother any
other drug. The purpose of this paper is to see how methadone is best for the mother
and her baby.

The problem
Nearly 3,000 babies in New York city are born to heroin-addicted mothers. As
most people know being on any type of drug while pregnant is extremely harmful.
Heroin is one of the main opioid type drug that many people are using to get that high.
Women who are addicted to this drug, do not want to stop for any reason even if they
are pregnant. When a mother is in heroin the baby is more likely to have problems
during and after pregnancy. When the baby is in the womb they have a tendency to
have poor growth and do not grow as fast as other babies. They also have a higher risk
of being born premature and with that comes with a lot of other problems. Lastly it is
common for the baby to be stillborn because they can not take all the drugs that the

Effects of Heroin

mother is using (Frontpage). More issues come up after the baby is born such as low
birth weight, Meconium Aspiration (having a mixer of fluid in their lungs), Neonatal
Abstinence syndrome (NAS).

Hospitals take mothers on drugs really seriously, they

ask every mother to give a urine sample so they can test for any type of drug. If it
comes back positive they have to draw blood for a more intense drug screening. When
that comes back positive for any illegal drugs they have to go call DSS
so they can see what is going on. If the mother says no to the drug test, it does not
matter because every baby is tested for drugs. When the babies test comes back and it
is positive, the hospital has to wait five days to see if the baby goes through withdrawal
and they give them morphine to help subside the pain. (Carol)

After the kids get

out of the hospital they are not done fighting the problems that they will face. Around
when they are toddlers more issues come up. Some of the kids are energetic and easily
distracted, this is one of the common things that happen to them. They also show signs
of poor motor skills, have sleep disturbances and it is known that these kids are less
likely to get along with kids their age. This is because they are growing up slower and
are not at the same point as other kids, some end up in special education classes to
help them catch up and learn how to interact with others.(Frontpage)

The solution
Methadone is one solution to that can save babies lives and the mothers who
have drug issues. Studies show that when the babies were born they had few problems
like: having seizures, meconium aspiration syndrome, poor feeding, weight loss and
smaller growth(Chasnoff).Another thing, methadone babies are 3-4 more times likely to

Effects of Heroin

have Sudden Infant Death syndrome (SIDS)(Treatment,C).Another issue that

comes from this drug has to do with the dosing that the mother receives from her
doctor. Another study that was conducted shows that it was believed that higher dosing
would cause less plasma level and lower dosing would cause Neonatal abstinence
syndrome. NAS is very common in babies whose mothers were on drugs during the
pregnancy. Even when the doctor lowers the dosing this causes the baby to go into
withdrawal when they are born. (Cleary)
The signs of withdrawal do not show until 24 hours to 3 days after. Some side
effects do not present themselves until 4 to 10 weeks such as Thrombocytosis ( high
platelet count) and can stay for as long as 10 months. When the hospital knows that the
mother was on methadone they hold the baby five days after birth to insure they are not
showing any signs of withdrawal . The hospitals treat babies that are showing signs of
withdrawal by giving them a low dose of morphine to help subside their pain and other
actions. Every baby shows some signs of withdrawal ; however, the symptoms are
different in every baby (Cleary and Carol). Not only does this drug affect the baby when
it is born, but it also affects the child in the long run.

One study shows that the

methadone children tend to not hit milestones during their main developmental ages.
Some of these kids are having issues with their eyes, speech and having poor motor
coordination.(Rosen)

This shows that taking this drug during pregnancy has

neurological side effects on these babies. These are the sideeffects that the baby will go
through and may have for the rest of their lives, but it is better than the alternative.

Benefits of Methadone

Effects of Heroin

There may be a lot of side effects to using methadone,but there are

benefits to it that heroin does not have. As heroine does have a higher chance of having
stillborn babies, methadone helps decrease these chances by a lot. Another thing that
methadone helps is that mothers can breastfeed because the babies do not get any of
the drug doing that. If the mother was on heroine, the baby could get the drug through
the milk and go through withdrawal every time. Typically mothers who are on
methadone are doing this because they want to stay clean and get off of heroin. This
helps the baby grow up in a semi-normal home and less chance of getting abused
( Treatment,C and frontpage).

The Conclusion
The purpose of this paper is to see how methadone is best for the mother and her baby.
Heroine will cause babies harm and can kill them even before they are born. It can also
cause long term effects that they have to live with for the rest of their lives and they will
not be the normal kids with all these side effects. Methadone is the answer to this
problem right now. It may have a few side effects, but it will save the babies and the
mothers lives. There are new treatments coming out like buprenorphine, there is not a
lot of research on this drug and how it affects babies. This may be the answer to this
problem in the future. As of right now the studies show that methadone is helping
mothers get off of heroin and as minimal side effects to their unborn babies.

Effects of Heroin

References
Carol, RN, Grand Strand Medical Center

Chasnoff, I. J., Hatcher, R., & Burns, W. J. (1982). Polydrug- and Methadone- Addicted
Newborns: A Continuum of Impairment?. Pediatrics, 70(2), 210.

Cleary, B. J., Reynolds, K., Eogan, M., O'connell, M. P., Fahey, T., Gallagher, P.
J., & ... Murphy, D. J. (2013).

FrontPage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from

http://heroinbabies.pbworks.com/w/page/17918342/FrontPage

Rosen, M.D., T. (n.d.). Long-Term Effects of Prenatal Methadone Maintenance.

Retrieved November 20, 2014, from
http://archives.drugabuse.gov/pdf/monographs/monograph59/073-083_Rosen.pdf

Treatment, C. (93, January 17). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64744/