Heroin abuse is devastating as it is, but heroin abuse in pregnant women is much more dangerous. When a pregnant woman abuses heroin, she is not just endangering her own life, but she is putting her child’s life in jeopardy too. Today, there is a great prevalence of heroin abuse in Colorado and pregnant women are not out of this vicious sphere. The addiction treatment program in Colorado has included special treatment for women who are carrying an infant and are abusing heroin.
Heroin abuse in pregnant women can cause them to have a miscarriage or a premature delivery. Also, infants that are born to mothers who have been abusing heroin during the pregnancy or during lactation are more prone to the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. With such problems, it is extremely important that treatment must be given to the women as soon as possible.
But at the same time, the heroin treatment needs to be carried out on different lines when the woman is pregnant. In the heroin addiction treatment in Colorado, when the abuser is a pregnant woman, detoxification is not carried out. This can be lethal because the woman can have a spontaneous abortion while the detox is being carried out. Instead, methadone treatment is preferred. Once again, this is dangerous. Though methadone is used for pregnant patients during heroin rehabilitation in Colorado, it is important to note that the methadone can cause a dependency in the infant too. But, this dependency can be treated in the infant quite easily.
The best way out is prevention. Women who are into heroin abuse in Colorado are subject to various campaigns that tell them of the harm the drug will cause when they become pregnant.