Opiates in newborn's blood test

[Eillekskram]

I am a first time user on this forum, my question is that I have been using pain meds at various strengths throughout my pregnancy, I am at 31 weeks and have tapered carefully and am at the point where I will be completely off of them by week 32 withdrawal symptom free, I understand that if my child's meconium is tested opiates will show up, my question is how long will they stay in his blood as this is the preferred testing method at the hospital I will be delivering at. I am also wondering the same question for benzodiazepines as my girlfriend who is 2 weeks behind me in her pregnancy took 2 10mg diazepam at 28 weeks and wants to know how long that will show in her baby's blood as well. I thank you for any help you can give me, please refrain from any criticism as quitting has been hard and I'm trying to stay positive.

 

[Tommyboy]

We don't allow drug testing questions.

However, I will say that you and your girlfriend are better off being honest with your doctors so that they can decide the best course of action the both of you and your unborn children.

You have to be careful when stopping these medications since withdrawal can cause a miscarriage, which is why in most cases a doctor will recommend that you continue taking whatever drugs you were on when you found out you were pregnant. This obviously wouldn't include drugs like crack or meth, and if you were on heroin they would switch you over to methadone probably. From what I understand the baby would detox by drinking your breast milk and slowly wean off of it as he/she stops drinking the milk over time, and then you would have the choice of detoxing after the newborn has.

I'm going to move this over to sober living.

Anon --> SL

 

[Vaya]

I'm not entirely sure; I think it may boil down to a matter of the half-life of each chemical.

First and foremost, though, please nudge your girlfriend in the right direction and discourage taking any psychoactive medications that will be transferred to the fetus. This is incredibly irresponsible - but, at this point, I do not have any reason to believe any irreversible damage has been done.

The half-life of diazepam is roughly 100 hours, but the half-life of its active metabolite, desmethyldiazepam, can exceed 200 hours.

At this point, you'll need to grant your girlfriend's and your child's bodies the requisite amount of time to metabolize these substances. As long as no more are introduced to either body, the prognosis of your child's health remains positive IMO.

I must remind you, however, that I am no doctor. If your worries extend beyond the scope of this thread, I would sincerely recommend seeking out the advice of a licensed professional.

Take care of yourself, of her, and of your unborn child.

~ Vaya

 

[Corazon]

looks like Vaya nailed it.

also your motivation shouldn't be beating the drug-test, it should be the health of the baby. Good Luck

 

[herbavore]

Congratulations on getting off the opiates. Your baby's health and your own are inextricable. Right now you are literally one, but even after birth your child's well-being and health will be tied to your own. Let the doctors and nurses in on everything. Even if you have to put up with some judgmental pricks, you will no doubt also see that there are people that will care about you and your baby without judgment, and you need the medical staff to have all the information they need to care for both of you in the most comprehensive way possible. Once you take your baby home you will have lots of new challenges and stress in your life compounded by lack of sleep; do you have good support from family or friends? If not, ask now about what services are available to you and line them up!

You are a good mama already. Again, congratulations. I have a book suggestion for you: Becoming the Parent You Want to Be, by Laura Davis