Methadone???

I am a nurse at an out patient methadone clinic. Methadone in itself is a safer option as far as sunstances go and detoxing as opposed to street drugs. I will say that this as with any withdrawal is difficult but the good news is with proper medical supervision and monitoring miost babies are quite resilliant. The ONLY thing that you should be aware of is if emom is using other drugs in conjunction with the methadone. A good many addicts recieving methadone also use other drugs like benzodiapines (xanax, klonapin, ativan ect) as well as some drugs that will enhance the affecs of methadone to repilicate a heroin high. Those drugs are harder on a baby in detox. Also know that is is very common for methadone patients to use cocaine. I am not trying to disuade yoy or frighten you but I want you to be aware of these possibilities. I have seen many babies fare very well with detoxing and I believe a very big part of it is the enviorment baby is discharged to. Knowledge is key here. These babies tend to be much more difficult to comfort, have many incidents of reflux, colic and difficult to comfort. Some like to be swaddled and some hate it, white noise, dimmer lighting, swings and many other suggestions can help in easing and making baby comfortable. No two babies are alike with this and it it is a case of whatever works best for your baby but these are things that you will learn as you get to know your baby, no different than a non addicted baby in that sense. By the time baby is dicharged from the hospital he/she should be fully detoxed as far as medication(methadone itself goes) but may or may not be on other medications to treat the side affects that the detox has caused. If you have any specific questions please feel free to contact me. The length of the detox can vary on the amount of methadone emom is recieving as well as other factors. I do know that detoxing a baby is a slow process and depends on how well baby responds and the protocol the hospital uses. Understand that even after the baby is released you may still have a while to get baby to settle to the point of comfort.