Newborns are not addicted
As a neonatal nurse, I began working with families with substance use disorder and their newborns in a Denver NICU decades ago. I was very pleased to see that Maddie’s Place will become a safe place for families and their babies after hospital discharge in our region. (“Caring for drug-addicted babies,” March11) I have been fortunate to teach at Brigid’s Path in Ohio where this model of care is exemplary.
Clarification to the article is needed. Babies are never by definition born addicted. They are physically dependent on the substances they were exposed to prenatally and may go through withdrawal. Substance Use Disorder (formerly addiction), on the other hand is the: inability to consistently abstain, impaired behavioral control, and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships.
It takes a great deal of courage for pregnant women with substance use disorder to begin the road to recovery since the stigma placed upon their disease is pervasive. Fear of judgment and blame inhibit women from asking for help. Part of that stigma comes from labeling and using words such as addicted or born addicted. In 2009, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration suggested appropriate reference to babies as being exposed prenatally to substances or drugs.
Reducing stigma by individual as well as media’s appropriate language use is elemental in facilitating individuals to access treatment, especially during pregnancy.
Maureen Shogan, M.N., R.N.C.
Spokane