Methadone is a prescribed synthetic opioid substitute for the opiate heroin used to control addiction. During pregnancy, both heroin and methadone can be passed from the mother to the fetus via the placenta. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, SAMHSA, illicit drug use can have significant effects on the unborn child. They add that women have a difficult time managing the physiological effects of drug use.
Obstetric Complications
SAMHSA states that difficulties with pregnancy and opioid use are often complicated with lack of prenatal care. They include complications of spontaneous abortion, premature rupture of the uterine membranes, abruptio placentae, or the pulling away of the placenta from the uterine wall, premature labor and delivery and intrauterine death or stillbirth.
Repeated Withdrawl
Erratic attainability of heroin can cause episodic withdrawal and drug cravings in the fetus, says SAMHSA. It can also cause euphoric effects that are passed to the unborn child. This puts the fetus at risk for morbidity and mortality, illness and death. The use of methadone maintenance therapy, MMT, is recommended to help block the episodes of highs and withdrawls for the mother and the fetus.
Infections
According to the March of Dimes, pregnant women who share needles put the fetus at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C, or HCV. SAMHSA adds that co-infection of HIV/HVC from infected needles may be as high as 50 to 90 percent for the mother which raises the mother-to-fetus transmission risk to over 18 percent. If the mother is just infected with HCV, the risk rate for the fetus is 5.4 percent.
References
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: TIP 51: Chapter 3: Physiological Effects of Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco on Women: Effects of Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco Use on Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes
- March of Dimes: Illicit Drug Use During Pregnancy: What are the risks with use of heroin during pregnancy?
