Topics in Healing & Recovery
Substance misuse among pregnant people and new parents is a growing problem. There has been a big increase in opioid caused deaths among women. As women recover from childbirth, whether the delivery was vaginal or c-section, it is not uncommon to have pain. Women are often given opioids (strong pain killers) in the hospital and a prescription for opioids when they leave the hospital to help deal with the pain. Opioid use for a few days during pregnancy and postpartum is not addictive. However, using opioids for longer can lead to opioid use disorder (OUD) and create an increased risk of addiction and overdoses.
Is it okay to take pain medication like opioids?
People who are pregnant and those who have given birth may need to take pain medication when they are having very bad pain. A study following women in North Carolina and New York found that women who didn’t treat their pain in the early postpartum period had a higher risk for postpartum depression and more persistent pain. Suffering from chronic pain can make it hard for a parent to care for herself and her baby. Prescription pain medications can be important for recovery. Your health care provider can prescribe the right dosage of opioids or alternative medications. Be sure to tell your health care provider if you are breastfeeding.
Is it okay to take prescribed opioids while breastfeeding?
Yes. As long as you follow the directions on the medicine bottle it is okay to take pain medication while giving your baby your milk. According to A Physician’s Guide to Opioid Use in the Lactating Mother, lower amounts of opioids given to breastfeeding mothers over short periods of time (4 to 6 days) are safe for the baby. The guide recommends for mothers to breastfeed before taking each pain medication dose.
Opioid Addiction and Treatment
How can you know if you have an addiction problem? Feeling a very strong mental and/or physical need for opioids and needing higher amounts to feel better over time are two signs. Being unable to stop using opioids and doing things to get opioids that are dangerous are also signs. During pregnancy, opioids can reach the baby through the placenta and can get to their nervous system. Opioid dependency during pregnancy increases the risk of pregnancy-related problems, including preterm labor, high blood pressure, miscarriage or fetal death, and postpartum heavy bleeding. Babies whose mothers have used a lot of opioids during pregnancy may also have drug withdrawal known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Click here for more information about the signs and treatment for NAS. Opioids can also change a person’s mood and judgment and make it hard for a mother to nurse and care for her baby.
Pregnant women and mothers with opioid use disorder should join a medically-assisted treatment (MAT) program. Medically assisted treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based treatment that helps pregnant women and new mothers recover and heal. MAT is a “whole-person” approach that uses FDA-approved medication (e.g. methadone or buprenorphine) as a substitute for the opioids that a mother was misusing. This, along with counseling and therapies helps mothers better care for themselves by preventing opioid withdrawal as well as reducing the risk of overdosing from opioids obtained illicitly. While babies may still have NAS when their mothers use MAT, it tends to be less severe than for babies whose mothers did not undergo treatment. For those who are worried about taking these medicines while breastfeeding, very small amounts of the FDA-approved medications pass through the breastmilk and they won’t hurt the baby. In most cases, women who are taking methadone or buprenorphine should breastfeed because this can help baby get better faster. For more information click here.
Resources
More information about the risks of opioid prescriptions are at MotherToBaby. MotherToBaby also has a free private service that connects you with a MotherToBaby expert to answer questions you may have via phone, text, online chat and email. (Click here for details) If you are struggling with substance misuse, you can also call the national helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), that provides free and confidential referrals to local treatment, support groups, and community-based organizations.( Available 24 hours/day, 7 days/week in English and Spanish).
Please also explore the UNC Horizons Program, for substance use disorder treatment for pregnant and parenting women.
