What are the risks of opiate addiction during pregnancy?
Opiate addiction can have severe, tragic consequence during pregnancy. According to the LSU Health Sciences Center, nearly half the women who are dependent on opiates suffer anemia, heart diseases, diabetes, pneumonia, or hepatitis during pregnancy and childbirth. Infants born to these women often have withdrawal symptoms which may last several weeks or months. Many of these babies die. The Western Journal of Medicine has found opiate use during pregnancy can lead to infants being born with mental retardation and behavioral abnormalities. Why is opiate addiction so hard to overcome? The fact that many prescription opiates are legal – though intended to be used only for medical purposes – can lead some opiate addiction to be overlooked. Friends and relatives of a prescription opiate addict may not think there’s a problem because the addict isn’t buying an illegal substance. The withdrawal symptoms experienced by opiate addicts who attempt to quit are another serious obstacle to beating
