Heroin withdrawal

Fyreflie · Feb 21, 2013

Morphine for babies is the standard at every place I've worked at, I've never had to deal with a withdrawing Mom. What a tough situation *hugs*

marmelloz · Feb 22, 2013

Methodone for both. Baby is gradually weaned off. Not a pleasant sight to see a baby in this condition.

jodyangel, RN · Feb 22, 2013

Well the OB said to give her nothing..that we weren't a treatment center...but got some Ativan many hours later on day shift. Baby was transferred out in the am. Very scary situation esp when the OB ( the one and only) doesn't want to deal with it...

elkpark · Feb 22, 2013

You may want to take that (the OB's comments and lack of tx) up the chain of command at your facility. There are well-established protocols for opiate withdrawal in the literature, easy to provide, and all kinds of hospital units do this all the time.

brillohead, ADN, RN · Feb 22, 2013

Well the OB said to give her nothing..that we weren't a treatment center...but got some Ativan many hours later on day shift. Baby was transferred out in the am. Very scary situation esp when the OB ( the one and only) doesn't want to deal with it...

That is just barbaric. The baby didn't do anything wrong, so why was he punishing the baby????

marmelloz · Feb 22, 2013

At first I thought you meant the baby was left to suffer. One of the most painfully memorable experiences I had in newborn nursery was watching an inconsolable baby during withdrawls. The mom and boyfriend would only come in to see baby during medication time. She wanted to make sure the baby got every last drop. There was no way I would have not given every little bit before she even had to ask. But what was more irritating, is that she rarely came to visit during the bad times. The times between medication, where the baby would cry a high pitch cry that I know only as a cry unique to this withdrawl. Every shift felt the same pain for this baby. This was like the umpteenth time this mother delivered a methodone or heroin addicted baby. Just made us want to chain her to a chair and FORCE her to stay and see what pain she was putting her baby through. She either needed to quit her drugs or get permanently sterilized. Sorry, just imagine this baby's high pitched cry and any stimulation, even just picking the baby up, sent the baby reeling. I'll take a crack baby any day over that horrible heroin.

jodyangel, RN · Feb 22, 2013

Well it was the newborn as well. They had to have 2 scores over 8 to be transferred out. Ped came in at 7am and wrote orders..

jodyangel, RN · Feb 22, 2013

What I meant to say, is that the OB was only responsible for the mom..but he would not give her anything. Disgusting. Pediatrician at least came in early at 7am and transferred her out.

marmelloz · Feb 23, 2013

At least one of them has some sense. In a way, I can understand that a doctor may feel frustrated with a patient who puts a baby through this. Inside, he may be angry at her. Not a good thing to act (or not act) on it though. We have to leave that at the patient's door.

Bezoars · Feb 23, 2013

I work on the drug-baby unit often at our hospital. The worst part is that a lot of these moms will come in and pitch a fit about us "keeping their baby from them" and "the baby should be home with us" and be all hovering about everything we do. They get offended at the excoriation they come out with. I'm always like "the baby WOULD have been home with you if you hadn't ingested that crap while you were pregnant". Enough said. I have no sympathy. none. Then when the other family members come in and start shooting their mouths off about it (usually because they don't know all that mom was on). I ask them politely to chill, then have them escorted off the unit. Unfortunately, it's kind of a hopeless situation. Most of these babies go home with mom and have shi**y lives.... if they make it through to their first birthday.

marmelloz · Feb 23, 2013

I feel just what you're saying. How frustrating. And having to be so polite while knowing what you know. I'd like to ask what is the excoriation from? Is there a severe body rash or really bad bms for the baby? We just have a rare case, so I'm not as experienced with this.