Why is a Newborn Expected to Kick a Drug Habit So Much Easier than an Adult?

I recently met with a director of pain clinic to discuss our obvious disagreement about Methadone and Suboxone treatment. One of the issues that rubs me the rawest, is unborn babies. I do not believe that people should be able to take these medications if they are at risk of getting pregnant. Relying on a new patient's "self-reporting" that she is on birth control, they do nothing further to verify. "It's against their privacy rights", eh?  I mean, legally, it's not really even a baby once someone is pregnant, so the unborn child has zero rights in this nation...so why would these clinics care? They make their weekly money, they keep patients coming back for more and more and more, because once they are pregnant and on Methadone or Suboxone, they can't be taken off of the medication because it will terminate the pregnancy; and in fact, the Mother's doses increase as their pregnancy progresses because the baby is taking some of the medication from the mother. So let me get this right...it's against the woman's rights to require they are on birth control; an unborn baby has no rights; yet, when we are talking about disbursing narcotics, we MUST do so, to prevent the termination of the pregnancy? Am I missing something here? I mean, when the government is doling out $600,000,000 to curb this opiate problem in the nation and these "MAT Clinics" are getting a lot of that funding, do taxpayers have no rights to require women to prevent pregnancy while taking these dangerous drugs? Why are they not REQUIRED to have an arm implant if they must be on these drugs? Why aren't these clinics required to report a pregnancy of a patient to the Children's Division or other state agency that protects children? Which is it? Are they protecting the baby or protecting the addiction? This issue infuriates me.

If a woman is truly wanting help, truly wanting to change her life--then she is going to the clinic short term. I will play my own Devil's Advocate and even go as far as---Suppose birth control makes her sick and she can't take it (which would be very unlikely if she can handle Methadone)--but suppose that is the circumstance. Why wouldn't these clinics still be required to report pregnancies to the agencies that protect children? What would there be to hide, if her intentions are to get clean and she is in the program for that reason?  Again--who are we protecting? According to several NICU nurses in Joplin, there are at least 1-3 babies in the NICU at all times battling a Methadone addiction. Those numbers don't add up, when you hear that the local Methadone/Suboxone Clinic only supposedly has 4 pregnant patient's at this time. That would be 6 babies at all times in Joplin's NICU's dealing with drug addiction due to this type of "treatment". Obviously due to HIPAA, I do not have actual statistics on that---but wouldn't the State of Missouri Children's Division be able to get that information? Shouldn't they get that information? Better yet, what if those babies don't go to the NICU, because the clinic will tell you that "most babies are born on time and perfectly healthy with no need to go into a NICU."  So supposed that baby goes home just normal. Withdrawal starts 7-10 days afterward--and that baby has no one to help them. That baby is going through withdrawal outside of medical supervision and no one knows any different because no one has reported it. This is wrong. This is unfair to the most innocent victims in this drug ridden mess of a healthcare system that we are creating.

Lastly, answer me this---these babies that go into a NICU to wean off of Methadone and Suboxone are often kept for a few weeks. Sometimes they require morphine for withdrawal. They cannot be touched or comforted because stimulation, light, loud sounds can upset them and make their physical pain worse. NICU nurses state that they scream a high pitched scream and are impossible to comfort. How is it that we as a nation have decided that adults should be coddled and given medication that they do not feel any discomfort during withdrawal---yet we expect the littlest of drug addicts to kick it within three weeks...sometimes unattended in silence because no one bothered to ensure they were safe.

This is unfair, this is unethical, unacceptable and irresponsible healthcare. This is unacceptable to treat the littlest of human beings in this manner. They have rights too. They have a voice too. Lawmakers need to speak up and impose restrictions on these clinics and ensure that these babies are protected. It is time to stop coddling adults and start coddling the innocent. This issue needs immediate attention from our nation and the State of Missouri. These clinics have a responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If they truly are in the business of "treating people" then this should not even be a question. Enough is enough. We are creating more addiction and less personal responsibility. It's time to truly TURN THE TIDE, as the US Surgeon General has recommended. Turn the tide away from protecting addiction and start protecting families.

When researching for this blog, I found this article. Read it. Be prepared to cry, be prepared to be sick to your stomach and be prepared to be outraged.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/baby-opioids/

Change needs to come NOW.