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New Day Treatment Center is uniquely well-suited to taking care of pregnant women on methadone. Our clinical director, Dr. Mebane, has been a board-certified Ob-Gyn for 35 years and continues to practice in his field. His expertise is available to all of our patients throughout their pregnancies. Methadone is the drug of choice for all women during pregnancy. This is true for women on methadone who become pregnant as well as those women who are opioid addicted and want to start methadone maintenance. Numerous clinical studies have all confirmed that methadone is safe during pregnancy. This means that babies born to mothers on methadone are just as healthy as babies born in general. There is no greater risk of miscarriage and, following delivery, the development in these infants throughout childhood is also normal. |
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The greatest concern during pregnancy is avoiding episodes of withdrawal in the mother. This in turn causes withdrawal symptoms in the developing fetus which is an undue stress with unknown consequences. Daily methadone is the best way of avoiding this. It is often necessary to increase the methadone dose as the pregnancy advances to eliminate withdrawal symptoms and split-dosing may help as well. The newborn may experience a withdrawal syndrome after birth, but fortunately this is usually mild, transient and easily treated. Buprenorphine ( suboxone) has also been used in pregnancy successfully. However clinical studies demonstrating its safety have yet to be done. Therefore, while an option, it is not recommended at this time. It is NOT suggested that detox or stopping “cold turkey” be attempted.regardless of which medication a patient is taking. It is very important that you inform your counselor if, at any time, you believe you are pregnant. An authorization will be necessary to coordinate your care with your delivering physician to ensure a healthy outcome. |
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