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If you or someone you know is grappling with a heroin addiction, it is being shared with the baby, as heroin crosses from mother to child through the placenta. Though the rate of heroin addiction among pregnant women remains at half a percent of the total number of pregnancies, the overall proportion of women dependent on heroin and other opioids during pregnancy has doubled within the last 15 years. For the safety of these women and the children that they carry, heroin drug abuse treatment needs to be made available. Pregnant Heroin Users Good decision making is compromised by heroin use and that leads to a lot of terribly risky behaviors. In fact, you may have become pregnant because your inhibitions were lowered by your drug use. According to a study of contraceptive use among female heroin users, only 28.5 percent of the heroin users reported using contraception, while 48.5 percent of the non-users reported using it. Because so few women using heroin practice responsible family planning, many of them end up pregnant without intending to do so. This means that they often use heroin during the early stages of the pregnancy without knowing the harm they are causing. In addition, many are unable to stop using because they cannot fight the cravings and withdrawal symptoms, despite the high price they know they are paying. Their Babies Babies actually feel their own withdrawal symptoms alongside the mother, but these are difficult to feel or see when the baby is inside the mother. However, infants of women who continue to use have clear withdrawal symptoms once they have been born. These include: Fever Excessive crying Tremors Vomiting Seizures Irritability Slow weight gain Diarrhea Death Treatment Clinical trials of both methadone and buprenorphine, drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of heroin addiction, are safe to use for both mother and unborn child. What Is the First Stage of Heroin Addiction Treatment? There are multiple stages of heroin drug abuse treatment and the first of these is always detoxification, which has multiple stages of its own. Detox is the name given to the interventions used by the heroin addiction treatment center’s staff to help users transition from actively intoxicated to a completely drug and alcohol free state. The following should help you to better understand this process. What Are the Stages of Treatment? If you choose to undergo treatment for your heroin addiction, it will occur in several steps. These are: Detox Assessment and treatment for dual diagnosis, having addiction and another co-occurring mental disorder Medication Behavioral counseling Aftercare, long-term follow-up designed to act against relapse A professional, structured program will do a thorough evaluation as part of your intake and will use that to design an individualized treatment plan. It will determine the types of medication used, if any, and the types of counseling or therapy you participate in. What Are the Stages of Detox? Detox, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, has three steps: Evaluation: During this time, the staff will test to see if you still have heroin in your system and the amount. They will also see if a dual diagnosis needs to be made. There will also be a thorough assessment of your social, medical, and psychological situation. Stabilization: This is the actual psychosocial and medical process of assisting you through the transition from intoxicated to a state that is substance-free, medically stable, and fully supported. Nurturing a patient’s entry into treatment: During this time, the staff will prepare you to enter formal treatment by emphasizing the need for a complete heroin addiction treatment program. Is Detox Treatment? Detoxification is a stage of a larger treatment process and should never be used to replace a full heroin abuse treatment program. |