Do you think that is why Bobbie stayed away from the hospital somewhat after her own discharge? Maybe they would have her arrested if the baby tested positive for any drugs? I know they do this in Tennessee.
IIRC, she was on suboxone through a doctor so her doctor & everybody involved medically during the birth would already know. When a woman is trying to get clean while she is pregnant, they will usually prescribe suboxone or methadone because it's a thousand times safer than for the mother to continue shooting dope. IV use is super risky because of complications such as blood clots & abcesses, not to mention different batches of heroin contain all sorts of cuts & there are too many variables. With the prescription, it's in a controlled setting. Obviously, the baby will have withdrawals & that really sucks but it's exponentially better than having all of the other variable risks. It is definitely awful for the poor baby to have to deal with withdrawals & it's definitely a good thing that they're kept at the hospital for observation & ease of WD symptoms.
So, since it was prescribed & she was on a maintenance program, they wouldn't arrest her but they would definitely hold the baby at the hospital to help ease withdrawals. A lot of addicted women who are pregnant desperately want to get help but are afraid to because they are scared of arrest/jail/CPS.
Off topic, but it sucks because even when you're trying to do the right thing, you still end up being punished. My youngest was three years old when I decided I really needed to check myself into a detox & rehab program. I have no criminal record. I just wanted to get clean for my own sake & my kids' sakes. A "family friend" said she would take care of my daughter while I got on my feet again. She ended up filing for custody, even after I got clean & it's been over THREE YEARS now that I've been clean. I have shared custody of my two sons & im STILL fighting in family court for my daughter & it wasn't even a CPS thing! Every time I petition, I get more & more visitation (I now have her basically any time she's not at school) but it's incredibly frustrating. I wish the legal system & society would see that addicts are really sick & need help. It's all my own fault anyways, but at the end, I wasn't even trying to get high; I was just trying to not be sick.
I'm sorry I totally went way off into tangent land! I take the threads involving heroin to heart sometimes. I mean, I take them all to heart because it's scary & awful but the heroin ones hit close to home.
