[memommie]

:confused: Please, can someone tell me what happens to a baby at birth with a methadone mom? I have searched the internet, only to be more confused.

[curlybenswife]

Ive seen the effects that has and its not nice I have to say :( they basically go through withdrawl and will have a long stay in hospital to help them through I have never heard a baby cry like the one in the prem unit where we were and no I was not there for drugs my baby was genuinly sick it's a hard thing to watch for any mum let alone the parent I wish you luck.

Im sure J_9 will have better info for you though.

[excon]

Hello me:

Yes, the baby is an addict. Why would think otherwise??

excon

[memommie]

:confused: Please, can someone tell me what happens to a baby at birth with a methadone mom? I have searched the internet, only to be more confused.

Thank you for confirming my thoughts.
My 27 year old step daughter is a heroine addict. Since her pregnancy, they have her on methadone. Plus last week she tested positive for trisomy 18. Apparently, methadone can give a false positive for trisomy 18. Tuesday she'll have that test, then a week of waiting for results.
The father is also an addict. He has no intention of getting clean in the near furture. She has asked him, what he needs to stay clean. He tells her support. He has that Big time already and it hasn't helped.
Our home is like a roller coaster. I use to call our home a place of PEACE, now it's the complete opposite.
My husband and I know there is NO way she will take care of a baby. She can't even take care of herself. So, we'll probably be raising our grandchild.
Thanks for listening. Memommie

[J_9]

Oh, the poor baby...

Yes, the child will be born an addict and she will risk losing the baby to social services. Please let the doctor know that you will be able to step in and raise the child, otherwise it may very well be taken from her at birth. I have seen it done in the NICU on several occasions.

Baby tested positive for Trisomy 18, if you don't mind, what test was performed? Was it an Amnio, CVS, or ultrasound?

[memommie]

She had unltra sound.. Tues. she has Amnio.

[J_9]

Remember that ultrasound is not definitive, only the Amnio or CVS is.

[memommie]

This is what I found on trisomy 18.. They told her she should abort if the baby has it.
Thanks
Trisomy 18 was independently described by Edwards et al and Smith et al in 1960.1, 2 Among liveborn children, trisomy 18 is the second most common autosomal trisomy after trisomy 21. The disorder is characterized by severe psychomotor and growth retardation, microcephaly, microphthalmia, malformed ears, micrognathia or retrognathia, microstomia, distinctively clenched fingers, and other congenital malformations.
Mortality/Morbidity

Approximately 95% of conceptuses with trisomy 18 die as embryos or fetuses; 5-10% of affected children survive beyond the first year of life.
The high mortality rate is usually due to the presence of cardiac and renal malformations, feeding difficulties, sepsis, and apnea caused by CNS defects.
Severe psychomotor and growth retardation are invariably present in those who survive beyond infancy.

[J_9]

I am so sorry. I got my trisomy's mixed up. Downs Syndrome is Trisomy 21.

Trusomy 18 effects more girls than it does boys, and 50% of the children do not live past the first year of life, while others have matured to adolescence with serious complications and medical issues.

If indeed the baby does have Trisomy 18, it is not necessarily due to drug use as this is a chromosomal condition. She should undergo genetics counseling regarding the possibility of future children having this disorder, and that is a VERY low percentage.

Have you read this website?

Trisomy 18 Foundation: How Trisomy 18 is Diagnosed

[dataguneed]

Yes the child can be born with it in its system and there is nothing you could do about it but give it to acs