Articles > Pregnancy and Drug Detox
One main question a pregnant woman who is addicted, or the pregnant woman's family may have, is "is it possible for a pregnant woman to go through detox?" There are many factors that can contribute to the answer of this question, which is yes and no. Pregnancy can be unpredictable without drug addiction, so, it would be hard to answer either way without considering things about pregnant women and detox. The first thing to think about when wondering about pregnant women and detox, is that the unborn baby is just as addicted to the drug as the mother is. It is crucial to the unborn babies life to discuss the options of detox and drug treatment with doctors or midwifes that specialize in pregnancy addiction. Another factor to consider is the type of drug the pregnant women is addicted to. This means that if a woman is addicted to a regular detox drug, drugs that are not heroin or opiate derived (prescription medicine) then detox can be done slowly, with a doctor's help. The reason is because usually, regular drug detox cannot physically harm the mother and withdrawing from drugs can only help the baby. Yes, withdrawal will be uncomfortable, but, both the mother and the baby will be healthier, plus, there is a good chance that the baby will not be addicted to the drugs after birth if the drug free detox is done early enough in the pregnancy. The risky part of detox comes when the detox is a medical detox. This means that the pregnant women is addicted to heroin or to opiate drugs, which usually pertains to forms of prescription pain killers, and will have to go through a medically supervised detox, if she is able. These types of detox can be fatal to both the mother and baby if done incorrectly or suddenly. A medical detox is usually a form of controlled withdrawal through the use of a drug called methadone. Normal addicts would be able to do this in a few days or a week at the most with the use of methadone to control the withdrawal symptoms. A pregnant addicts detox can and will take much longer. At first, if the pregnant woman is approved, the detox will start off as substitution, if the addiction is heroin. This means that the normal heroin dosage can be replaced with methadone and the pregnant addict takes the methadone at controlled intervals. Slowly, the dosage is reduced through out the detox process until the pregnant addict is taking little or no methadone. It is much safer for a baby to be using methadone through his/her mother than it is heroin or any other drug. With other drugs the unborn child will go into highs and lows as the mother finds, uses, and then comes down off of the drug. With the substitution the baby is getting a controlled amount of a controlled drug and is being weaned off of it in the process. Plus, the side affects of methadone are relatively small and the baby will be safer when withdrawing from methadone. The only time detox is not advisable, besides for medical reasons, is if a pregnant women tries to do it herself, as this could kill her and her baby.
 
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