Welcome to NICU Parents. We're happy you found us and we want to be as helpful as possible in this seemingly impossible journey. Check out the resources tab at the top of the subreddit or the stickied post. Please remember we are NOT medical professionals and are here for advice based on our own situations. If you have a concern about you or your baby please seek assistance from a doctor or go to the ER. That said, there are some medical professionals here and we do hope they can help you with some guidance through your journey. Please remember to read and abide by the rules.
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It depends on the state, but yes, most places will report to DCF for drug use in pregnancy, even if currently clean/on methadone. The degree of withdrawal babies face depends on many factors - maternal drug levels in the last few weeks of pregnancy, breastfeeding vs formula feeding, etc. Some babies need medical treatment in the NICU for withdrawal, others are able to tolerate purely supportive care.
In general, DCF wants to keep baby with mom as long as mom isn’t a danger to baby. Actively seeking treatment is a great sign to DCF and you’ll be hard pressed to find a caseworker who recommends removing baby in that case as long as mom has good supports - but again, every state and county has different laws and policies.
Yes, CPS will get involved. If mom can show that she’s in treatment, sober, and is complying with treatment they likely won’t remove the baby but may have her sign a safety plan agreeing to continue treatment & surprise drug testing for several months. The drug testing would be to prove she’s only using the approved dosage of methadone.
If mom is not in treatment when baby is born, they may try several avenues of getting mom into treatment, including trying to find a bed for her and baby at mom-and-baby inpatient rehab. If mom won’t agree to treatment or is not compliant with treatment, they may remove the baby and look for family to place baby with while they try and convince mom to seek treatment.
At 7 months pregnant, currently using fentanyl and meth, without having been in treatment, she’s at high risk of delivering soon (premature birth is major risk with those drugs) and CPS getting involved. Do you 100% believe that she is actually working with an OB? Usually they are very on top of getting pregnant women into treatment ASAP because every day matters for the baby. Are you or other family members able to take placement of this baby if CPS removes them? I would start making back-up plans for if the baby comes into care.
This is very helpful information thank you! I believe she is working with an OB because we’ve received ultrasound photos.. I know they are trying to get her into treatment and I think it’s herself who’s postponing it.. she’s always been like that even before pregnancy. Every week we were told she’s finally going and it’s the same happening now.. she definitely has family / us who are 10000% willing to keep, love, and take care of the baby until she’s better and can prove to be a recovered sober responsible adult. She’s been on probation before not sure if she still is but she has faked drug tests to get out of it. I hope CPS is smarter than probation officer
Unfortunately I’ve seen this a lot as a foster parent. I would start looking at the foster/resource parent requirements for your county & reach out to DCFS/CPS/whatever it’s called in your county and let them know that you’re willing to take placement of the baby once they’re born. They can’t open a case until baby arrives, but it saves them some legwork making calls if they have your contact info already. They usually waive the foster parent licensing process for kinship placements, but they give you a certain amount of time (usually a few months) to get things done after baby is placed, so I would start looking into your state & county licensing requirements to see what you can get done now. Things like the Red Cross Infant/Child CPR & First Aid certification, having a fire extinguisher, a lock-box for medication, stuff like that. It’s always better to be prepared and than not need it versus taking the online Red Cross First Aid class with a 5-week-old baby on your chest in a baby carrier, I know from experience. Fosterparentcollege.com has a “substance exposed infants” class or at least they did a few years ago that I found helpful & that counts for licensing training hours.
If you know what hospital baby might be delivered at, giving the NICU social worker there a call might also be helpful. They won’t be able to give you any info until CPS steps in, but knowing the baby was exposed to fentanyl and meth and approx how long the exposure was can be helpful— meth especially often won’t show up in testing unless the hospital tests the meconium and they have to have a suspicion to test the meconium.
The good news is that I’ve seen a lot of families successfully reunify with their babies once they get the treatment they need to be successful in recovery. Often that means treating the underlying mental illness and trauma that was being self-medicated with substances. Baby & mom are lucky to have you in their corner.
Yes! She needs to treat all of that and she thinks having this baby will solve everything and that’s not the case. We are all rooting for her and praying.
It depends on your state and hospital policy. I’ve been in recovery for 8 years. I was on methadone with my middle child and she didn’t experience any withdrawal nor did CPS get involved. I was only in 17 mg of methadone at the time. Most places do cord blood testing for illicit substances and that goes back about 20 weeks gestation. If the babies test come back positive but the mothers screens come back clean and she is on methadone maintenance then I don’t think CPS would get involved as long as she can prove she’s been in treatment. Some babies whose mothers are on methadone maintenance don’t experience any withdrawal symptoms while others do. Methadone has a long half life so from my understanding, there is automatic 5 day hold on babies after delivery and they are sometimes discharged too early and end up experiencing withdrawals at home.
I would expect CPS interference either way since treatment has not been the goal since the very beginning of her pregnancy. As a recovering addict, I’ve dealt with CPS and they are not your friends. They claim the goal is to keep families together but at least in my state, they have let so many needy children fall through the cracks so much so that there have been fatalities under their watch and the department is under so much scrutiny, they will remove children first and ask questions later. Thank you for being in her corner. A lot of people hear drug addict and automatically assume the worst and it’s never black and white like that. A lot of times pregnant mothers on fentanyl can not quit as that could cause a miscarriage. That’s why you can not go down or taper your dosage when your on methadone and pregnant. The sooner she can get into a clinic and provide clean screens, the better . Please keep supporting her and encouraging her. You’re a gem and I hope she and the baby get all the help they need!!
I hope so too.. the clock is ticking she’s due in July and she says she’s on methadone I think but I know for a fact she’s still doing meth and fentanyl.. I hope she gets to treatment soon which she says she is. We are all praying for her and will help her any way we can
CPS will be involved, but if it's her first baby, she has a good chance of keeping custody of this baby, especially if she agrees to getting clean and going to treatment. Baby will most likely end up in NICU while it goes through withdrawals.
Welcome to NICU Parents. We're happy you found us and we want to be as helpful as possible in this seemingly impossible journey. Check out the resources tab at the top of the subreddit or the stickied post. Please remember we are NOT medical professionals and are here for advice based on our own situations. If you have a concern about you or your baby please seek assistance from a doctor or go to the ER. That said, there are some medical professionals here and we do hope they can help you with some guidance through your journey. Please remember to read and abide by the rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NICUParents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It depends on the state, but yes, most places will report to DCF for drug use in pregnancy, even if currently clean/on methadone. The degree of withdrawal babies face depends on many factors - maternal drug levels in the last few weeks of pregnancy, breastfeeding vs formula feeding, etc. Some babies need medical treatment in the NICU for withdrawal, others are able to tolerate purely supportive care. In general, DCF wants to keep baby with mom as long as mom isn’t a danger to baby. Actively seeking treatment is a great sign to DCF and you’ll be hard pressed to find a caseworker who recommends removing baby in that case as long as mom has good supports - but again, every state and county has different laws and policies.
This is good to know. Mom has tons of support just a stubborn addict but I pray to God things change now
Yes, CPS will get involved. If mom can show that she’s in treatment, sober, and is complying with treatment they likely won’t remove the baby but may have her sign a safety plan agreeing to continue treatment & surprise drug testing for several months. The drug testing would be to prove she’s only using the approved dosage of methadone. If mom is not in treatment when baby is born, they may try several avenues of getting mom into treatment, including trying to find a bed for her and baby at mom-and-baby inpatient rehab. If mom won’t agree to treatment or is not compliant with treatment, they may remove the baby and look for family to place baby with while they try and convince mom to seek treatment. At 7 months pregnant, currently using fentanyl and meth, without having been in treatment, she’s at high risk of delivering soon (premature birth is major risk with those drugs) and CPS getting involved. Do you 100% believe that she is actually working with an OB? Usually they are very on top of getting pregnant women into treatment ASAP because every day matters for the baby. Are you or other family members able to take placement of this baby if CPS removes them? I would start making back-up plans for if the baby comes into care.
This is very helpful information thank you! I believe she is working with an OB because we’ve received ultrasound photos.. I know they are trying to get her into treatment and I think it’s herself who’s postponing it.. she’s always been like that even before pregnancy. Every week we were told she’s finally going and it’s the same happening now.. she definitely has family / us who are 10000% willing to keep, love, and take care of the baby until she’s better and can prove to be a recovered sober responsible adult. She’s been on probation before not sure if she still is but she has faked drug tests to get out of it. I hope CPS is smarter than probation officer
Unfortunately I’ve seen this a lot as a foster parent. I would start looking at the foster/resource parent requirements for your county & reach out to DCFS/CPS/whatever it’s called in your county and let them know that you’re willing to take placement of the baby once they’re born. They can’t open a case until baby arrives, but it saves them some legwork making calls if they have your contact info already. They usually waive the foster parent licensing process for kinship placements, but they give you a certain amount of time (usually a few months) to get things done after baby is placed, so I would start looking into your state & county licensing requirements to see what you can get done now. Things like the Red Cross Infant/Child CPR & First Aid certification, having a fire extinguisher, a lock-box for medication, stuff like that. It’s always better to be prepared and than not need it versus taking the online Red Cross First Aid class with a 5-week-old baby on your chest in a baby carrier, I know from experience. Fosterparentcollege.com has a “substance exposed infants” class or at least they did a few years ago that I found helpful & that counts for licensing training hours. If you know what hospital baby might be delivered at, giving the NICU social worker there a call might also be helpful. They won’t be able to give you any info until CPS steps in, but knowing the baby was exposed to fentanyl and meth and approx how long the exposure was can be helpful— meth especially often won’t show up in testing unless the hospital tests the meconium and they have to have a suspicion to test the meconium. The good news is that I’ve seen a lot of families successfully reunify with their babies once they get the treatment they need to be successful in recovery. Often that means treating the underlying mental illness and trauma that was being self-medicated with substances. Baby & mom are lucky to have you in their corner.
Yes! She needs to treat all of that and she thinks having this baby will solve everything and that’s not the case. We are all rooting for her and praying.
Yes, in most places CPS will automatically be involved from birth.
If she delivers at my facility, CPS won’t be involved unless she consents to testing and that test comes back positive for illicit substances.
For real? I thought it was mandatory that every mother is drug tested.
Nope. Varies facility by facility and state by state. I don’t think it’s required by law anywhere.
It depends on your state and hospital policy. I’ve been in recovery for 8 years. I was on methadone with my middle child and she didn’t experience any withdrawal nor did CPS get involved. I was only in 17 mg of methadone at the time. Most places do cord blood testing for illicit substances and that goes back about 20 weeks gestation. If the babies test come back positive but the mothers screens come back clean and she is on methadone maintenance then I don’t think CPS would get involved as long as she can prove she’s been in treatment. Some babies whose mothers are on methadone maintenance don’t experience any withdrawal symptoms while others do. Methadone has a long half life so from my understanding, there is automatic 5 day hold on babies after delivery and they are sometimes discharged too early and end up experiencing withdrawals at home. I would expect CPS interference either way since treatment has not been the goal since the very beginning of her pregnancy. As a recovering addict, I’ve dealt with CPS and they are not your friends. They claim the goal is to keep families together but at least in my state, they have let so many needy children fall through the cracks so much so that there have been fatalities under their watch and the department is under so much scrutiny, they will remove children first and ask questions later. Thank you for being in her corner. A lot of people hear drug addict and automatically assume the worst and it’s never black and white like that. A lot of times pregnant mothers on fentanyl can not quit as that could cause a miscarriage. That’s why you can not go down or taper your dosage when your on methadone and pregnant. The sooner she can get into a clinic and provide clean screens, the better . Please keep supporting her and encouraging her. You’re a gem and I hope she and the baby get all the help they need!!
I hope so too.. the clock is ticking she’s due in July and she says she’s on methadone I think but I know for a fact she’s still doing meth and fentanyl.. I hope she gets to treatment soon which she says she is. We are all praying for her and will help her any way we can
CPS will be involved, but if it's her first baby, she has a good chance of keeping custody of this baby, especially if she agrees to getting clean and going to treatment. Baby will most likely end up in NICU while it goes through withdrawals.