Often, a person won’t realise she is pregnant until the later stages of pregnancy. Prolonged heroin use usually causes an irregular menstrual pattern, sometimes even removing menstruation completely.
With the poor physical conditions of these women, the risk arises of complications at birth. The poor lifestyle of many addicted women often causes many infections. These again have their influence on the unborn child. Detoxification during pregnancy without the proper medication and supervision is not recommended. Acute abstinence during pregnancy may in some cases even cause the death of the unborn child. The use of methadone as a replacement is better.
During the early phase of development, the brain of an unborn child is very sensitive to addictive substances. Seeing as hard drugs (including methadone) easily cross the placenta, the foetus gets addicted as well. This is expressed in a complex form of disease, neonatal withdrawal syndrome. The child will therefore have withdrawal after birth. This is best done under medical supervision. The use of opiates during pregnancy and its administration during the birth of the newborn can cause respiratory depression and is very dangerous.
Additional information
Heroin user levels are always mixed, usually with caffeine, often with paracetamol. Caffeine increases the ability to smoke. There are also a wide variety of toxins used to cut the drug, like other opiates. Besides heroin, alcohol, cocaine, methadone and drugs such as tranquilizers and sleeping tablets are used in conjunction. The danger of opiates is that the positive effects that arise are also adverse effects; the calming effect quickly leads to forms of neglect that comes from feeling indifferent.
Opiates such as morphine are also used medicinally. A fatal overdose can really only be reached by injecting too much. There is a small risk that someone can fall into a deep sleep after smoking or snorting (or in combination with antidepressants can even cause a sub-coma) and then choke in their sleep from vomit.