Why Are Pregnant Women Using Opiates as a Pain Reliever?
Question by William: Why are pregnant women using opiates as a pain reliever?
I am doing a Research on women using opiates for my class. I want to know the reasons for pregnant women to use opiates. I am a male and i know nothing about this.
Thank you!
Best answer:
Answer by shelby
There could be many reasons. Including but not limited to pre existing conditions, pain from pregnancy, pre existing injuries, etc. If a pregnant woman is prescribed an opiate it is as a last resort. Not all opiates would be prescribed to someone that is pregnant as the majority can be very dangerous for a child however that is not true for all. As an example, let’s say a woman has the condition fibromyalgia. This condition can cause extreme pain and discomfort. Just because a woman is pregnant does not mean that condition goes away, often times it gets worse. Doctors will consider the medications she is already on, including opiates, and come up with the best medical regime for both the mother and child. If the mother quit taking the opiates cold turkey she would be in pain, physical distress and the unborn child would be put in distress as well. Often in these cases doctors wean the mother off of the stronger opiates and put them on a low dose of a low class opiate such as Vicodin as needed (which does not have any evidence of harming a fetus when taken in low dose and as prescribed) or put her on a non opiate pain reliever such as tramadol. Every woman has a different set of circumstances so this is just one example I commonly see. It is a large misconception that it is safe for someone taking these medications to just stop. That is actually more harmful for the child and can cause the child to withdrawl which is dangerous or fatal depending on the opiate and intake. Another example would be if someone addicted to opiates (not prescribed/abusing them) became pregnant. In this case doctors often refer to the drug methadone to get the mother off of the more dangerous opiates without harming the baby any further. Don’t get me wrong, children can be born withdrawling from methadone and at that instance the medical team has to take more drastic measures for the child’s health and safety as well as involving a social worker and children services. It is a danger to a fetus for the mother to consume opiates but if it is necessary to keep the child from further distress caused by other conditions or injuries sometimes that is what has to be done under medical supervision. If you search web md you may be able to find a list of pre existing conditions other than the examples I have listed that may cause a pregnant woman to need opiate medication.
Answer by Gov’t Mule
I’m not a doctor or a nurse registered nurse ,, but I do go to a pain clinic and have been for 13 years,,most of the women I see are drug addicts,, there are several legit reasons to use them but I see them every week and 90% are just drug addicts.
99% of the pregnant women who are on methadone are there for one reason,,,to get high and to keep from getting dope sick That’s what they talk about,,, getting high,, most don’t seem to care if they are pregnant,,,,,it is very sad
People that just read about things like this can’t really know,, I see it all the time and most don’t seem to care,, even though they know they will lose their baby