Babies taken away from THC Smoking Moms

I just heard that if you have a baby coming and you smoke pot; the authorities can take your baby. I am dead serious. Do doctors check for drugs during pregnancy? Can they take your baby?

 

Yes, it happens.

 

Yes, it happens. My daughter was almost taken from us because I admitted to smoking pot WHEN I DIDNT KNOW I WAS PREGNANT. They held us in the hospital until Moire had passed a urine sample to prove no THC was in her system.

It happens. It's real. I suggest getting a midwife and doing a homebirth if at all possible.

 

If you give birth in a hospital there is a good chance that they will test your blood and/or urine. The same goes for the baby. In Texas they routinely do this without patient consent.

 

or... you could just make a choice not to smoke pot or do any drugs while pregnant. Just throwing the option out there.

They check for all sorts of things, not just THC.

 

Or you could live in a bubble for the whole 9 months.

I know this isn't a debate thread, but c'mon. It's true that they check for all sorts of things, but they don't test for nicotine, otc meds, caffine....all of which I think are quite a bit more hazardous/addictive/toxic than THC.

 

This is true, but the fact is, they WILL TAKE YOUR CHILD. That is a risk I sure as hell am not willing to take. Period.

 

they also check for blood disorders and other MORE harmful drugs. They aren't doing it to be mean, evil doctors... they are doing it because they feel it is what is best for your child.

What I mean is this.. its not that big of a desision. If you get caught with THC in your sysytem they might take your child... so it doesn't seem that hard to make the choice not to smoke while pregnant or breastfeeding.

If you choose the joint over your child you might just have your priorities messed up, IMO.

 

We are definately not smoking then. Thanks for clarifying this for me.

 

Thats a good choice, I wouldn't even if they wouldn't take her away, though there are worse things, it still is harmful, i'm not taking any chances, I'm trying to stay away from caffeine, i don't even drink coffee anymore... though i was planning to stop anyway...it sounds better if i did it for the baby

 

One of my friends smoked because of hyperemesis during pregnancy. The poor girl couldn't hold down water because she was puking so much. She made the decision to smoke to help the nausea. It was the only way she could eat. She wasn't hitting the bong and partying, just a puff right before meals. When she had her son in the hospital they were both tested for drugs without her knowledge and CPS was brought in. She had to do community service, go to parenting classes with child abusers and have her MIL in the home for several months because she wasn't allowed to be with her son alone. All this immediately post-partum. All because she was trying to hold down some food so her son could grow healthy and happy.

I think Trekker asked a valid question, and to flame her is kind of rude.

 

Stormyy, i understand what you are saying...

If had that problem I would discuss the problem and all the situations with my doctor. I trust my doctor.. she has been my doctor for most of my life. I trust her, she trusts me. If I had exhausted all the solutions and I felt that smoking pot was the only solution left, I would tell my doctor... and if she agreed with me that it was the only solution left, then I would smoke pot with my doctor's knowledge after educating myself on the possiable health risk I am exposing my unborn child to.

 

I'm glad you understand and aren't on the attack. It's also cool that you trust your doctor enough to discuss the use of pot as a remedy. I would not have felt comfortable discussing marijuana use with my OB. Like HippyFreek mentioned, some docs go overboard and treat you like a criminal even when you are trying to do everything right.

I quit smoking pot and cigs the day I tested positive for pregnancy. Thankfully my pregnancy was normal. If I did have hyperemesis I would have eaten/vaporised marijuana to ease my symptoms. I also would have had my daughter at home to avoid the threat of CPS.

A lot of ASSuming goes on in hospitals. I've worked in a few. I've seen it happen. Nurses and docs will test you for drugs just because you look different. If you look like a hippy-you'll get tested. If you have tattoos and piercings-you will be tested. I understand that the tests are sometimes beneficial. Getting a baby away from a crackhead mama is good. Taking a child away from a mama because she has THC in her system is crazy.

One more thing. When a baby is tested for the rare blood disorders it is a completely different test than the ones used to screen for drugs. I have absolutely no problem with the heel-prick, or tests for cocaine, heroin etc. It's the assumption that THC=child abuse that kills me.

 

ITA, stormyy, with some of what you say. They do test if you're "suspicious" in the hospital. They test mothers under 23, single mothers, those on state health insurance, and those that don't fit the "SWAK-preppy" stereotype".

 

Ya know whats funny to me is that some women that would jump all over your case for drinking a glass of wine while pregnant think it is perfectly ok to smoke pot. To me that i just hypocritical BS. Smoking pot while pregnant deprives yours and your babies body of oxygen that can cause long term damage. Just like smoking cigarettes.

 

You don't have to smoke pot to get the beneficial effects of the THC. I wouldn't smoke anything during pregnancy. If you are going to use pot as medicine, you should also be researching alternative (ie safer) methods of delivery.

 

First of all I am male not female. Someone I know says that she would quit smoking, but putting things into practice is hard if you are dependent on something or if it is a habbit, or if you need pot as medicine. She has chronic pain. She smokes cirgarettes and they can be harmful to a fetus as well as pot. We have to make some serious changes for sure. She rarely drinks, so fetal alcohol syndrome is not an issue. If Nicole quits smoking I will also. She smokes pot as medicine, while as I smoke for the insights and spiritual effects mostly.

I would also like to know if you can get your baby back after it is taken. Does the child go to a state care facility or what?

 

If your child is taken it is sent into specialized foster care if it's an infant. You have to go through parenting classes supervised visits and regular/random drug testing. It is possible to get your kids back but it takes lots of work.

 

What kind of chronic pain does your girlfriend have? Prior to pregnancy I used pot to treat my fibromyalgia. I was really worried that the pain would get worse during pregnancy, but the exact opposite happened. I was relatively pain-free (aside from normal pregnant stuff) for the whole 9 months and about a month post partum. It was a nice side effect

I would definitely recommend that she stops smoking if she gets pregnant. Tobbaco had no medicinal value whatsoever, and it would only do harm to the baby. If she needs the THC, she can vaporise or eat it and avoid the smoke alltogether.

Also research homebirth and midwifes-If I could have a do-over I would have had my daughter at home. My hospital experience sucked. My friend had an awful time after CPS was called in because of her pot use. She didn't lose her child but they made sure to make her life a living hell for the first year of her childs life. That time should be spent binding and breastfeeding, not going to court ordered parenting classes with people who neglect and abuse their children.

 

Thanks for the feedback.