Anonymous
Post 10/29/2018 20:50     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
There have to be more options than Valium or THC. Please talk to your Dr and maybe increase the dose of your antidepressant now before the baby comes.

Have you tried Benadryl to sleep? Very safe!
Anonymous
Post 10/29/2018 15:32     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorry you’re going through this. Do you have a therapist/psychiatrist you could talk to?


I haven’t been a patient with one for over the last couple of years. I did call into the office of my former therapist but I’m considered a new patient and she’s booking three months out. I didn’t make an appointment.


I'm sorry you're going through this. Please consider intensive cognitive behavioral therapy. https://iedta.net/edt/about-edt/types-of-edt/iedp This isn't talk therapy. It's aggressive but HIGHLY effective. It transformed my life.

I have PTSD and anxiety and my psychiatrist (specialist in OB psych) recommended that I stay off all meds until the end of the first trimester. I was terrified and all the more anxious about the outcome and overcome with guilt. I've been able to manage without my meds. I'll admit it hasn't been easy, but with consistent therapy I'm doing much better than white knuckling it.

Anonymous
Post 10/29/2018 14:59     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:First, calm down. Testing positive for THC is not likely going to get the baby taken away from you or even necessarily a referral to CPS. This is not the same thing has the baby being born addicted to meth.

You can look into state/local laws and hospital policies about drug testing a birth. If you are in the DC area you have three jurisdictions to choose from and can select a hospital accordingly.

If you are in DC, then what you’ve done isn’t even illegal. CPS is looking for reckless endangerment of the child’s life. Reading your story, it seems that you reviewed the evidence available and made an informed choice that THC was safer for the baby than valium. That is not reckless.

I would encourage you to talk to your doctor since they have already offered the Valium prescription. You don’t have to tell them you have already taken THC but you can ask for their medical opinion on which would be better for the baby and allow you to control your symptoms.



It most certainly is. My mom is in nursing and she said they test mom for drugs in L&D and anything illegal in mom or baby gets CPS referral. There is not a scale of worse off drugs that gets you a referral or not. It’s mandatory reporting for any illegal drugs.

OP how far along are you and when was the last time you did it? It’s hard to get help and be leery since there are so many mandatory reporters. However, you gotta take care of you.


It depends on the state, not all states have the same rules. several do not report to CPS
Anonymous
Post 10/29/2018 14:17     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
I hope, firstly, that you will get yourself set up with a therapist. Find someone who will respect your aversion to Valium but will also help you stay on a more even keel here at the end of your pregnancy and the post-Parton stage. It’s great that you realize the danger to your health that Valium poses, and that you’ve realized that the danger to your baby’s health isn’t worth using pot.

Second, to be safe, you should consult a lawyer. A lawyer can talk with you about the laws in your jurisdiction that will dictate whether you or baby is drug tested and what happens if baby is positive. If you do end up with a positive drug test for baby, you’ll want to have a lawyer at the ready to navigate the legal implications for you.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 18:30     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Take the Valium. It’s minimally transferred across the placenta, the effects on the fetus are limited, and it’s a regulated substance, not some random plant you buy from an amateur.

You may become dependent, but if you’re actually predisposed to addiction, using dope is just as bad from that standpoint.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 14:49     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP, I think that you need to give yourself a break. Definitely do not disclose the use to anyone as they will definitely test if they know.

I asked a friend who is a L&D nurse about this in another state and what she said was that they test women who have a disclosed history of drug use, women who come in without any prenatal care (are unknown to the hospital), women who come in obviously intoxicated, and women who present with specific symptoms (preterm labor for example) that can be caused by use of specific drugs. She also said that her hospital does not care about marijuana at all as they live in an area with high rates of opioid addiction and meth use so they kind of consider marijuana to be small potatoes, particularly as its non lethal and the effects on babies are not as dire as the other things.

I live in DC and as far as I know I was not tested at the hospital. I didn’t have any blood work done at all at the hospital and no one was collecting urine. Maybe they tested DD and just didn’t tell me but I doubt it since I had no risk factors.

I work in social services and a positive toxicology result for a mom or a baby is basically an automatic call to CPS here, even marijuana which is legal for recreational use. It doesn’t mean your kid will be taken but it does mean that you’ll be on a registry and will be barred from working in certain fields such as childcare. Also the investigation is a hassle. In your situation, I’d abstain for the rest of pregnancy and hope that it’s enough time for the THC to leave your system.


You were tested for about a billion things when you give birth in DC, probably most other places as well, including HIV, various drugs, etc. You may not have been told, but you were.


+100
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 14:48     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
You do not have to deliver your baby in a hospital. Look into other options. Personally, I wouldn't worry as much about THC as I would the pharmaceuticals.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 14:41     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:OP, I think that you need to give yourself a break. Definitely do not disclose the use to anyone as they will definitely test if they know.

I asked a friend who is a L&D nurse about this in another state and what she said was that they test women who have a disclosed history of drug use, women who come in without any prenatal care (are unknown to the hospital), women who come in obviously intoxicated, and women who present with specific symptoms (preterm labor for example) that can be caused by use of specific drugs. She also said that her hospital does not care about marijuana at all as they live in an area with high rates of opioid addiction and meth use so they kind of consider marijuana to be small potatoes, particularly as its non lethal and the effects on babies are not as dire as the other things.

I live in DC and as far as I know I was not tested at the hospital. I didn’t have any blood work done at all at the hospital and no one was collecting urine. Maybe they tested DD and just didn’t tell me but I doubt it since I had no risk factors.

I work in social services and a positive toxicology result for a mom or a baby is basically an automatic call to CPS here, even marijuana which is legal for recreational use. It doesn’t mean your kid will be taken but it does mean that you’ll be on a registry and will be barred from working in certain fields such as childcare. Also the investigation is a hassle. In your situation, I’d abstain for the rest of pregnancy and hope that it’s enough time for the THC to leave your system.


You were tested for about a billion things when you give birth in DC, probably most other places as well, including HIV, various drugs, etc. You may not have been told, but you were.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 14:40     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:First, calm down. Testing positive for THC is not likely going to get the baby taken away from you or even necessarily a referral to CPS. This is not the same thing has the baby being born addicted to meth.

You can look into state/local laws and hospital policies about drug testing a birth. If you are in the DC area you have three jurisdictions to choose from and can select a hospital accordingly.

If you are in DC, then what you’ve done isn’t even illegal. CPS is looking for reckless endangerment of the child’s life. Reading your story, it seems that you reviewed the evidence available and made an informed choice that THC was safer for the baby than valium. That is not reckless.

I would encourage you to talk to your doctor since they have already offered the Valium prescription. You don’t have to tell them you have already taken THC but you can ask for their medical opinion on which would be better for the baby and allow you to control your symptoms.



It most certainly is. My mom is in nursing and she said they test mom for drugs in L&D and anything illegal in mom or baby gets CPS referral. There is not a scale of worse off drugs that gets you a referral or not. It’s mandatory reporting for any illegal drugs.

OP how far along are you and when was the last time you did it? It’s hard to get help and be leery since there are so many mandatory reporters. However, you gotta take care of you.


NP- a referral may happen, but that doesn’t mean the baby will get taken away. I don’t know the process, I don’t know what will happen, but a referral isn’t an automatic removal. If OP is a person of color, I hope that he baby is late and they don’t test.


Right? In DC, OP isn't engaging in illegal drug use.


It's against federal law, however. People seem to forget that federal law trumps state law.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 13:53     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
A woman who is investigated because her baby tests positive is going to be substantiated, PP. The positive toxicology is the evidence. Your situation is different in that the allegation was false and malicious. If the OP has used recently enough to test positive and is tested, the allegation is, quite frankly, true and correct. I personally don’t think that a positive marijuana result is a huge deal in the short or long term and her baby wouldn’t be taken away, but she’d almost certainly be referred for counseling and would be on the registry. The only time I’ve seen a positive toxicology call not end up substantiated was when only the mother tested positive.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 13:49     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:OP, I think that you need to give yourself a break. Definitely do not disclose the use to anyone as they will definitely test if they know.

I asked a friend who is a L&D nurse about this in another state and what she said was that they test women who have a disclosed history of drug use, women who come in without any prenatal care (are unknown to the hospital), women who come in obviously intoxicated, and women who present with specific symptoms (preterm labor for example) that can be caused by use of specific drugs. She also said that her hospital does not care about marijuana at all as they live in an area with high rates of opioid addiction and meth use so they kind of consider marijuana to be small potatoes, particularly as its non lethal and the effects on babies are not as dire as the other things.

I live in DC and as far as I know I was not tested at the hospital. I didn’t have any blood work done at all at the hospital and no one was collecting urine. Maybe they tested DD and just didn’t tell me but I doubt it since I had no risk factors.

I work in social services and a positive toxicology result for a mom or a baby is basically an automatic call to CPS here, even marijuana which is legal for recreational use. It doesn’t mean your kid will be taken but it does mean that you’ll be on a registry and will be barred from working in certain fields such as childcare. Also the investigation is a hassle. In your situation, I’d abstain for the rest of pregnancy and hope that it’s enough time for the THC to leave your system.


To my knowledge you only end up on a registry if the investigation finds something - I’ve been investigated by CPS before (false allegation by ex in bid for custody), and I’m on zero registry’s, I can work in any field I want to, and don’t have to disclose the investigation to anyone because it’s been sealed and unfounded. A call to CPS doesn’t mean anything automatically - the investigation has to lead to action taken by CPS.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 13:12     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
OP, I think that you need to give yourself a break. Definitely do not disclose the use to anyone as they will definitely test if they know.

I asked a friend who is a L&D nurse about this in another state and what she said was that they test women who have a disclosed history of drug use, women who come in without any prenatal care (are unknown to the hospital), women who come in obviously intoxicated, and women who present with specific symptoms (preterm labor for example) that can be caused by use of specific drugs. She also said that her hospital does not care about marijuana at all as they live in an area with high rates of opioid addiction and meth use so they kind of consider marijuana to be small potatoes, particularly as its non lethal and the effects on babies are not as dire as the other things.

I live in DC and as far as I know I was not tested at the hospital. I didn’t have any blood work done at all at the hospital and no one was collecting urine. Maybe they tested DD and just didn’t tell me but I doubt it since I had no risk factors.

I work in social services and a positive toxicology result for a mom or a baby is basically an automatic call to CPS here, even marijuana which is legal for recreational use. It doesn’t mean your kid will be taken but it does mean that you’ll be on a registry and will be barred from working in certain fields such as childcare. Also the investigation is a hassle. In your situation, I’d abstain for the rest of pregnancy and hope that it’s enough time for the THC to leave your system.
Anonymous
Post 10/28/2018 12:38     Subject: Made bad choices at the end of this pregnancy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:First, calm down. Testing positive for THC is not likely going to get the baby taken away from you or even necessarily a referral to CPS. This is not the same thing has the baby being born addicted to meth.

You can look into state/local laws and hospital policies about drug testing a birth. If you are in the DC area you have three jurisdictions to choose from and can select a hospital accordingly.

If you are in DC, then what you’ve done isn’t even illegal. CPS is looking for reckless endangerment of the child’s life. Reading your story, it seems that you reviewed the evidence available and made an informed choice that THC was safer for the baby than valium. That is not reckless.

I would encourage you to talk to your doctor since they have already offered the Valium prescription. You don’t have to tell them you have already taken THC but you can ask for their medical opinion on which would be better for the baby and allow you to control your symptoms.



It most certainly is. My mom is in nursing and she said they test mom for drugs in L&D and anything illegal in mom or baby gets CPS referral. There is not a scale of worse off drugs that gets you a referral or not. It’s mandatory reporting for any illegal drugs.

OP how far along are you and when was the last time you did it? It’s hard to get help and be leery since there are so many mandatory reporters. However, you gotta take care of you.


NP- a referral may happen, but that doesn’t mean the baby will get taken away. I don’t know the process, I don’t know what will happen, but a referral isn’t an automatic removal. If OP is a person of color, I hope that he baby is late and they don’t test.


Right? In DC, OP isn't engaging in illegal drug use.