Methadone and cleft palate

[NeoNurse04]

The number of meth babies have increased dramatically often the past few years. We always have at least 1 and had 5 a few months ago. In the past 6 months, 3 meth babies have had cleft palate. I have been a NICU RN for 7 years and have had 1 cleft palate before this (that I recall). Has anyone else noticed this?

Also, these moms are telling me that the OB told them that the meth wasn't bad for their babies and said that their babies would mostly likely be discharged with them. If they had to stay in the hospital, it would only be a few extra days. This is crazy. Meth babies typically stay for AT LEAST 2 months. I don't think the OB's are lying or negligent, I think that it is an education issue. Has anyone else been told this

[Elvish, BSN, DNP, RN, NP]

Only just about every single methadone-taking patient that comes in. Nobody tells these moms that these kids will be withdrawing, nobody tells them they'll be there for a couple weeks at least, and when our PNP/NNP goes to talk to them, they are in total shock...sometimes denial and anger. It used to be very rare that we saw methadone kids - maybe 2-3 a year. Now it seems that at any given time, we have at least one in our well-baby nursery.

It makes me so blooming mad. Now, as far as the cleft lip/palate stuff, I haven't seen a jump in that, whether mom takes methadone or not.

[BittyBabyGrower, MSN, RN]

We've seen arise also...please, give me the heroin kid, they withdraw so much faster. Also, many of them get pregnant on purpose because it is an automatic in to the meth program....drugs without paying! What a racket! These meth clinic docs need to be shot!

Haven't noticed an increase in clefts with ours.

[morte, LPN, LVN]

perhaps more related to comorbid malnutrition?

[NeoNurse04]

I feel the same way as you. We have a pretty busy meth clinic here in town. People actually move here because of it. I think that a woman should have to get some form of long term birth control before she can step foot in the meth clinic. I can't imagine what this is costing the tax payers. It makes me sick.

[dawnebeth]

Geeze, what are those doctors thinking? Methadone withdrawal is the worst. As someone else said, I'd prefer to wean a Heroin baby rather than a Methadone addicted infant.

As for cleft palate--no, I haven't noticed that in conjunction with methadone addiction. We see lots of mamas up from Mexico and So. America with babies who have cleft lip and cleft palate, so I tend to associate it more with consanguinity than anything else.

Dawn

[grlgid]

We've had two cleft/methadone babies back to back and have had at least 6 methadone babies through our doors since just before Christmas. Most of the moms say the same thing, they never new that their baby would go through withdrawl, they were told that they would be fine and go home with them.

I agree abour disliking the clinic, it seems like we get the kids off but the mom's stay on. What's fair in that?

[dawnebeth]

After I posted the other day, I remembered listening to the radio show Loveline with Dr. Drew--and he told a pregnant heroin addicted listener that she should get in a methadone program because once the baby was born, it could be weaned off methadone in a few days to a week! I was so annoyed that I emailed his radio show.

Didn't get a response, but that just really galled me. How much farther from the truth could he be? We have methadone babies in our units for months--and they tend to go home on phenobarb to finish the weaning at home.

Dawn

[dawngloves, BSN, RN]

I have never, ever seen a methadone baby go home in less than three weeks.There is also a new drug for heroin addiction, can't remember it right now. That kid stayed a month.

Haven't seen any with a cleft palate either. No defects to speak of, really.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

Must be just a California thing . . but "meth" is methamphetamine here so I was a bit confused with the original post. :)

We have methadone clinics too - but no one calls it "meth".

We have a huge methamphetamine problem here. But I was surprised in my last public health clinical rotation to hear that the fastest rising problem for perinatal substance abuse is methadone. So calling it "meth" would be confusing for everyone here . . . since so many babies are born with "meth" (methamphetamine) in their system and the history of that is long.

I'm not a NICU nurse - but I'll ask around to see if anyone has seen this increase.

steph

[BabyLady, BSN, RN]

We've had two cleft/methadone babies back to back and have had at least 6 methadone babies through our doors since just before Christmas. Most of the moms say the same thing, they never new that their baby would go through withdrawl, they were told that they would be fine and go home with them.

I agree abour disliking the clinic, it seems like we get the kids off but the mom's stay on. What's fair in that?

There is a physician at my hospital that is "known" to refuse to order drug tests for Mom.

So, as you can imagine, he is considered the "go to" OB when you have a drug problem in the drug-addicted community.

I'm shocked the hospital even deals with him.

[littleneoRN]

I haven't seen any correlation of clefts and methadone. I have not experienced keeping kids for months due to methadone. We try to get them stable on methadone, and they wean the doses off on an outpatient basis. If they're term and otherwise healthy, it's rarely more than a couple weeks and usually less than that. Do some of your facilities keep them until they're completely weaned off? If so, why do you think that is? Just curious. Always trying learn new things.