Thoughts on this...

lisaren · April 2014

This was posted on a friends Fb page.
Thoughts about this...

My degree is in social work and substance abuse counseling, and this is the current population I work with... I have my opinions but walking into work now. Will share later.

mander82 · April 2014

wow....ha ha.....well, I guess its probably good for the babies sake. Seems a bit extreme if someone would piss hot, but then get their shit together for the rest of the pregnancy. I guess they could be concerned about the childs welfare after they go home to who knows what sort of environment.

Maelara · April 2014

I like it

maybe if there were some positive tests but the mom worked on it and was clean for most of the pregnancy then calling social services might not be needed. But honestly, someone who abuses drugs or alcohol probably isn't in the right frame of mind to raise a child.

phdprocrastinator · April 2014

I don't like the way the message is delivered, although I do think mothers should know that their urine is being tested. I would prefer if the doctor or nurse reviewed the tests issued, and if it became an issue reviewed their policy as mandated reporters to notify protective services.

As PP mentioned, it is not wise to quit many drugs cold turkey particularly in pregnancy, but I can imagine this sign making a mom so scared that she would try.

abbyful · April 2014

My OB office does this. I think it's in the paperwork you sign, but I didn't really pay attention. I just remember seeing when I logged in to the patient portal it had all the results, including drug screenings. I imagine it's standard practice everywhere, most places just don't put up a sign like that.

SugarSnap83 · April 2014

I kind of like it

ArtTeacherMom · April 2014

I like the standpoint that it looks out for the baby's interest. My worry is that it would scare away women from getting proper prenatal care because they are afraid of getting their children taken. Even if that is not the common result, the tone of the sign is sort of threatening.

mockingjay1 · April 2014

lissydee said:

@dmo1371 care to weigh in? I know you work NICU, so you see NAS babies.

Sorry - I was hard at work making some scrapbook sheets for some twins I'm taking care of.

I don't see anything wrong with the above picture. I agree with @lissydee that the goal isn't to take children away from mothers, but rather to get them the help they need to quit whatever substance they are using.

I can see this driving some patients away from the offices that require testing if there are others in town that don't. When I worked in mother baby and now in the NICU we drug test any baby if the mom took any drugs during the pregnancy or if we have any reason to believe she did and didn't admit it. We don't ask the parents permission, and I've never ran into a parent who has made a fuss about it.

I don't think mother's always understand how bad withdrawal can be (from medications and recreational drugs). It's really terrible to watch. Again, all we can do is try to educate mothers and try to help decrease/stop their drug use.

meeshybee · April 2014

I wouldn't have any problem with this sign at my OB's office. I personally have nothing to hide and it is in all babies' best interests. If there is a history of substance abuse, I don't see any problem with sending someone to the home to make sure baby is safe. They have to have evidence that baby is at risk before they can take baby away, so as long as you are clean and the environment is safe you have nothing to fear.

If one of my tests came back positive for illegal substances, I sure as hell would want to know what on earth I had been exposed to so I could take appropriate precautions. And I still would have no problem with social services coming to my home.

brooklyngirl18 · April 2014

i have no problem with this sign except it might scare away women who use drugs from getting proper pre natal care. it might help scare straight some women who use recreational drugs but for hard core drug users hopefully this will get them the help they need as opposed to going to another office. maybe this policy should be discussed with the patients instead of putting a sign on the door…kind of tacky.

CountryMama1114 · April 2014

I saw this at 4am (thanks insomnia!) and it was one of those things reposted from a Facebook group or something similar. There were people who were hardcore defending their right to be on drugs while pregnant...

I think ONE test is a little excessive, depending on what kind of drugs you're talking about. Won't poppy seeds give you a false positive for something? (I really can't remember what drug, though)

MrsAdventure · April 2014

I think the idea behind this isn't a bad one, but then again I'm not one who has to worry about a positive popping up from such a test. But, if it were something I needed to be concerned about, I know I'd stay away from a clinic like that. Which is really to bad, because their only trying to do what they think is right.

montella1064 · April 2014

I wouldn't mind this at all. It's good for the baby's sake.

LadyBird9 · April 2014

lissydee said:

I wonder if the pic is real. I can't imagine any practice I work with informing patients in this manner.

Poppy seeds can give a false positive for heroin......... but you have to eat a LOT of poppy seeds. Like... a ridiculous amount.

I am 100% okay with that sign. Especially after seeing my cousin's deadbeat girlfriend deliver his daughter addicted to heroin. Luckily my other cousin got custody and the baby is doing okay today.

kkhamb1 · April 2014

I am totally OK with that sign! Someone has to care about the welfare of the babies and if it is not the mother, then let it be the doctors!

JFH2010 · April 2014

It bother me a lot. I think it would discourage high-risk mothers from seeking prenatal care, or encourage them to try to quit cold-turkey, which isn't safe. I think practitioners should try to get this information voluntarily so that they can offer services, but communicating in that way seems mostly harmful.

justjinny · April 2014

I get why they would think this is a good idea but it sits wrong with me. I feel like I should be in charge of my health care decisions and should get the choice of whether or not I want testing like this done. It seems like a needless added cost for testing for most women.

I also think this will discourage people with drug problems from seeking any prenatal care, which is only endangering their baby further. From what I understand, most OB's omitting women in labor will do drug tests if they believe the woman is showing signs of drug use.

vbchick0788 · April 2014

As a social worker I am more okay with this than people who are constantly reporting parents for using some sort of substance when they have children. Don't get me wrong, i'm not condoning drug use, but there are plenty of people who can be good effective parents and have addiction problems. I have a client with a five year old that parties on the weekend when her son is with his Dad...and by parties I mean I know she drinks in excess, smokes marijuana and has used cocaine on occasion. If she isn't using coke in front of the kid or when he is around, I have no reason to report. Do I wish that she wouldn't use any drugs, yes. Do I think that she needs treatment or guidance to stop, probably. But that's for her to decide. Also- I think it's up to the practice. They have the right to treat whoever they want. So if you test positive and you knew about the policy... well that's on you. I would hope that they would offer services to assist in getting clean and call CPS if they felt necessary and continue to support the person who does test positive, though. Addiction is tough. Part of addiction is relapse.

MeghanCF · April 2014

I'm a social worker as well. I see pluses and minuses to this tactic. But as long as it's prominently posted and it is made clear to patients, I don't really have a problem with it.

Nfranco973 · April 2014

That is something that's been going on out here where I am since my daughter was born (14 years ago)You can deny but they will set you up with a social worker and basically make you take the drug test.

Nfranco973 · April 2014

btw if you repeatedly give bad screenings social services will be waiting right after you deliver. If you deliver and pee test comes out positive dyfs will take the baby into custody.

mamatohne · April 2014

I think our society makes other people's business their own way too often. I am a firm believer in "live and let live". However I agree with anything that will keep an innocent child safe. (I cannot stand to see anyone smoking in a car with a child in the car)

ssstephanie214 · April 2014

I agree with some that this just wrong. First, it deters women whose babies are the most vulnerable from getting proper prenatal care. Second, we don't need doctors to be "cops." Doctors are likely able on an individual basis to know if their patients are displaying drug using behavior. They also have a fiduciary duty to treat patients they have undertaken to see and should encourage the kind of confidential, two-way communication that promotes honest patient relationships.

The laws governing mandatory reporting of child abuse don't exactly align with pregnancy. To me it seems like this practice is trying to collapse the issues and it doesn't sit well with me either. That's why they have to wait until the baby is born to "hand over" positive drug tests. I am speculating that that itself would be in violation of other patient privacy laws.

smboswell1 · April 2014

Yeah I have this at my doctors office! The day of my first appt, my doctor said I was the easist patient they have. I go to school in Millegeville, ga. Same place where Honey Boo Boo lives... Haha. So they say they get a lot of druggies in the office!

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