Author: marie
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 9:53 pm
Hi Chaotic!
Im so happy to hear that you’re being proactive in you/your baby’s healthcare. It SO IMPORTANT (especially for those of us on Sub maint.) to ask questions, do research to find accurate information, and to become an advocate for ourselves.
It seems as though many people on Sub, read something in a blog, or hear a story and take it as the ABSOLUTE TRUTH.
I remember when I first learned I was pregnant, I was all over the internet…..reading horror stories. It scared the crap outta me!
It wasn’t until I became proactive (like you are), that I was able to find accurate information, realize what my options were, and FINALLY ease my mind.
You said-
"I told him my biggest concern aside from the baby having NAS was that they were going to take and keep her in the NICU right away for monitoring as this I know is protocol for bigger hospitals. I do not believe in this unless it is severe or if there are other problems. I strongly feel the babies should be with their mothers so they can start the bonding process, breastfeed"……
I do realize that EVERY hospital probably has different rules/regulations, and a specific protocol for NAS babies. But, its my impression, that unless your baby has OTHER issues (requiring NICU care)……that the doctors/nurses WANT the babies to stay with they’re mothers as much as possible, BEGINNING IMMEDIATELY AFTER BIRTH.
While I was pregnant, my husband/I spoke with ALL of my Doctors, even my Anest. (for the C-Section) to come up with a plan. We took a tour of the hospital. And, we talked to one of the NICU nurses, to find out about specific rules. My O.B. then spoke with the Ped. (who would be on-call at the hospital at the time of my delivery), and suggested to him that our baby should stay at the hospital for three days after birth. Because of Sub’s long half-life. I believe it USUALLY takes at least 72hrs for NAS symptoms to appear. This is probably the reason most hospitals wanna keep sub babies for a few days, to allow time for NAS to reveal itself.
I believe its mostly up to the on-call Ped. at the time of your baby’s birth-hospital stay, how long your baby will hafta stay.
I think the Ped. takes your O.B’s recommendations into consideration, but then the Ped. ultimately decides how long your baby will need to stay. Hopefully, if your baby shows no signs of withdrawl after a period of time…..you’ll BOTH be discharged.
Like I said, I know every hospital is different. But, as far as them just taking the baby from me and bringing him directly to the NICU for monitoring……THAT WAS NOT MY EXPERIENCE. Every single Doctor, Nurse, Lactation Consultant…..were absolutely kind, caring, and accommodating. Well, that is……UNTIL, the very last day. The day we were to be discharged. A new set of nurses came on duty. And my new nurse for that day (who hadn’t ever been around my son/I, and who knew NOTHING about us other than what she had read in my chart…..SUBUTEX), tried to give us a hard time.
When this happend, I just kept my head up high, remained calm, and requested that she do her NAS scoring of my son….IN MY PRESENCE.
Chaotic, you’d be surprised how……..remaining calm, being respectful, and presenting yourself as a responsible parent/person can make a GIANT difference in your welfare. Lets face it, most people have low opinions of addicts anyways! And then when you add the fact that we were maintained on an opiate mediction during pregnancy…….well, you’re bound to get some judgement somewhere.
Just keep doing what you’re doing…..asking questions, finding answers, making plans. And PLEASE, whatever you do……try not to stress and instead enjoy the remaining weeks of your pregnancy. I wish I would’ve known then, what I know now, because I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CALM MY NERVES AND REALLY ENJOY MY PREGNANCY!
Pregnancy is supposed to be/SHOULD BE, a wonderful, beautiful experience! Don’t let the fact that you’ve included Subutex as a part of your recovery, effect how special this time in your life is!!
Lastly, in the event that your baby DOES have to remain at the hospital and be treated for NAS……ask if you can stay too (if its just gonna be for a few more days). I don’t know if your insurance will cover that or not. We don’t have insurance/don’t qualify for Medicaid, and had to pay cash for our baby’s birth. If our son would’ve had to stay to be treated, my doctor was willing to allow ME to stay as well…….to make bonding and brestfeeding possible.
