hi~
I know there are many wonderful moms here that have a wealth of information. well... we just got a phone call that we were chosen by a birthmother to adopt her baby! While we are excited about the possibility of finally brining a little one home (after waiting 2 years), we are a little nervous about the birth history.
The baby was born addicted to opiates (at 2 days old, the baby was a 16-17 on the hospital scale for opiates and 3 days old the baby was at a 6-7 on the scale). she was born 39 weeks old at 5 pounds 6 ounces. We do not know what the scale means and i can't find anything on line. does anyone know anything about the drug scale the hospital was using?
In general, we would expect more irritability, possible difficulty with feeding, maybe ADD in the future. Does anyone know how this might impact the motor development and cognition of the baby as she gets older?
Any insight would be very appreciated!!
THANKS!
Thanks everyone! I appriciate your advice :)
I have a friend that was in a very similar situation and it hasn't affected her at all. After it got out of her system in a couple days, she's been fine and is now 6y old. They are more resiliant than you might think, that is once they are in a loving home. Congrats!
.
Opiates addiction can be taken care of with homeopathy. Find a homeopath who is not an MD - since MD will most likely just give homeopathic preparation of Papaver Somniferum. to find good homeopath go to:
http://www.homeopathic.org
Congratulations and Good Luck!
V.
Finnegan scale.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/978763-overview
more details on the Finnegan chart are at the bottom of the article
I asked my MD husband this morning and sorry I waited so long to answer. I figured you'd get plenty of responses to that technical question. Also asked him if he would ever adopt a drug addicted baby. (He has rounded in residency at the NICU in a county hospital in a county where they see drug addicted babies as a norm). He shook his head no.
Hello Jane,
As a special ed. teacher who has done years of work with children who were born addicted to drugs, I can tell you that the possibility of that child struggling with a lifetime of issues is high. The studies I've read show children who were born drug addicted have low impulse control, the same symptom that shows up in adults doing drugs. Their brains are slow to regulate their behavior and thus appear ADD because they act on their every impulse. This is often compounded by cognitive impairment or delay which also brings with it a level of frustration to the child.
I have a close friend who adopted a boy 17 years ago who was addicted to opiates and the whole family is affected by his impulsive, explosive, and often violent behavior. I have a huge amount of respect for your willingness to consider taking this life long responsibility on, however, be prepared to deal with many potential issues, social drama, and restrictions on your ability to function as a normal family.
Good luck,
Wendy
Consult a trusted pediatrician or neonatologist with these questions. I hope you are working through an adoption agency. If so, discuss your concerns with the counselor who is specifically assigned to you as prospective parents.
This is a very tough decision. There are so many unknowns and the desire to have a child is so great that thinking with a clear head is hard. As an adoptive mother, I have a son who was exposed to MANY things in utero. The factors we looked at were term, Apgar scores, birth weight and reactions the baby had at the hospital. My son did develop a severe lung infection 1 week after birth and it took months to recover. He is now 17 months old and we are still learning the impacts of the drugs on his cognitive development.
As a Speech/Language Therapist, this is a huge risk. Please consult the doctors and get answers to all of your questions before saying "yes". Although they can't project the future, they can tell you many of the risk factors which will help you make your decision.
Good luck in your journey.
I have no personal experience, however, I just wanted to say good luck to you and your family. I can only imagine by the other comments, that this will be a tough decision for you and possibly a tough road. But, I have such a strong admiration for people like you who are willing to open their hearts up to a child that is in need of a loving family. I do firmly beleive in that God does not give us more than we can handle. I will keep you in my prayers!
I would speak to someone at the hospital. and also with the adoption councilor.
I think you really need to talk to your doctor about the condition the baby was born in, and find out everything you need to know. I hope this doesn't scare you, that isn't my intent. Some children born addicted to opiates can suffer severe withdrawl symptoms while others do not. These can include convulsions, breathing problems, and they are at a higher risk for SIDS. On top of that as the child gets older they can have speech and language delays as well as hyperactivity, short attention spans, and it can affect their cognitive/perceptual/fine motor skills. As for the drug scale, the only one I know of is SOWS which is Short Opiate Withdrawl Scale. You can look it up online but I do not know how they use it for an infant. It would definately be something to ask the doc or an RN.
Just get all the facts before you bring the child home, so you know what to expect, and how to care for the little one to the fullest. Good Luck!
My guess is the scale refers to the apgar score. I am including a link to baby center where it talks about it.
Jane: Good luck to you with this adoption. A friend of mine has adopted many children and some were addicted when born. All of the children are so sweet now and have turned out fine except things like adhd or learning disabilities. Any child can have a learning disability no matter how healthy the mom was so that shouldn't be a big issue. the biggest problem I have seen is fairly to bond issues and that can be tough for the parents. Good thing you are getting the baby right away, that way you can give him or her all the love and care she or he needs. There is a group at my church and you don't have to be a member to join it of parents with foster or adopted children. The church is Parkcrest in Long Beach. I would call their office right away for some great support in this process. You don't have to be a Christian to get involved in this group.
I am an adoptive mom of 2, now teenagers, got both of them right from the hospital. I urge you to talk to your pediatrician, and if you don't have one then interview a few NOW. You may also want to contact a ped. at your closest Childrens Hospital.
I also urge you to get the book The Primal Wound so you can know and understand what an adopted child goes through so you can raise your new little bundle of joy with, not only love, but understanding!
Best of luck in creating your family.
Best Fed Babies
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