need to know

[Hotmommie]

Hi*
Im 38 weeks pregnant and has some work done on my teeth in the beginning of Feb of this year. I had two root canels and a bunch of fillings and caps put on my teeth. They gave me 30 7.5 to take until pain went away. But i have taken a 1/2 to 1 a day since then but not everyday. The last 4 days i havent taken anything and i was wondering if my child with come out with withdraws systems and how can i prevent that from happening if so. My due date is May 24. If you could give me your real feelings on this matter that would be great. Please dont judge me i feel bad enough as it is. I just dont anything to happen to my son and I know I should have thought about that before I kept talking the meds.

[J T Junig, MD PhD]

For the most part, opiates have little known effect on pregnancy.  There IS a risk of miscarriage from oxazepam, by the way-- so that drug is not to be taken in the first trimester.  But even the issue of withdrawal in newborns is overblown;  I have seen the same nurses who 'tsk tsk' an opiate-addicted mother help to hold down the arms and legs of a newborn so that the circumcision can be performed-- without anesthesia.  Not to mention what it feels like to have your head squeezed to half the normal size during the birth process-- that can't feel good!!  

Give yourself a break;  the important thing now is to do the 'next right thing'-- now that you know your weakness for opiates, your job is to keep yourself as far from them as possible.  Keep them out of your house whenever possible;  consider telling your doc about your 'opiate issue' so that in the future you are given the least addictive options.

Good luck with the baby-- the opiates are not an issue at this point-- try to keep them from being an issue in the future.

[jsuzanne]

I think your baby will be fine.  Just don't take anymore unless you're in severe pain.  My teeth suddenly went "bad" during my 3rd pregnancy and I had to take tylenol 3's a few times.  But I was on 50 mgs zoloft daily and oxazapam as needed (like every 6 weeks or so) and my baby turned out very healthy and is in perfect health now.  I was scared of her having withdrawals too so I breastfed her for a year, I don't know if that's proven to work but she was a very calm and smiley infant.  Just don't worry-- if the Dr.s gave you the medication they must think it's safe. take care!