The National Institute on Drug Abuse says methadone is often used in maintenance treatment for pregnant mothers abusing opiates. This treatment aims to prevent further negative effects from illicit drug use. Methadone carries a risk of fewer adverse effects to both mothers and their unborn babies than the abused drugs. This artificial opiate may still cause serious side effects for unborn babies, however.
Short-term Effects
Roughly 60 to 80 percent of infants whose mothers received methadone display side effects immediately after the administration of the drug, says the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The agency lists low-blood pressure, decreased heart rate, dry mouth, eyes, or nose, constricted pupils, nausea, vomiting, confusion, and high pressure within the head as common side effects experienced by infants shortly after the administration of the substance. These effects are often uncomfortable but rarely cause persisting problems.
Long-term Effects
Babies whose mothers received methadone treatment often have limited fetal growth, low weight and height at birth, and a small circumference of the head, says Drugs.com. These effects do not persist for long and disappear later along during childhood. Not all problems caused by methadone, however, are so short-lived. Children born to women who received methadone during their pregnancy are likely to suffer from mild but lasting shortfalls. For example, these children often score lower in psychometric and behavioral tests long after their birth than healthy children.
Withdrawal from Methadone
Neonatal opiate abstinence syndrome is a disorder that often affects children born to mothers treated with methadone, says the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The condition causes dysfunctions in the autonomic and central nervous systems, the gastrointestinal tract, and the respiratory system. These symptoms commonly appear 48 to 72 hours after birth. Fetal tissue, however, may store methadone and cause these symptoms to present themselves at a later time. Although babies withdrawing from methadone experience most symptoms commonly associated with opiate withdrawal, it is possible for them to undergo additional symptoms. For example, children suffering from neonatal opiate abstinence often develop jaundice and sudden infant death syndrome. Dr. C. Dryden demonstrated in a study published in the "British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology" in October 2008 that if a mother continues taking methadone after the birth of the baby, the symptoms of withdrawal experienced by her baby are often eased.
References
- MedicalNewsToday.com: Maternal Methadone Use And The Consequences On Baby
- eMedtv.com: Methadone and Pregnancy
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: Medications Development for the Treatment of Pregnant Addicts and Their Infants
- "British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology"; Maternal methadone use in pregnancy: factors associated with the development of neonatal abstinence syndrome and implications for healthcare resources; Dryden C, Young D, Hepburn M, Mactier H.; Oct 2008.
- Netdoctor.co.uk: Methadone
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