In this photo illustration, bottles of the generic prescription pain medication buprenorphine are seen in a pharmacy on Feb. 4, 2014 in Boca Raton, Fla. The narcotic drug is used to treat opioid use disorder.
“It’s time for Massachusetts to stop stigmatizing women with a substance use disorder,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. Davida Schiff. “People are avoiding care because of the risk of mandated reporting.” “Our current policy and approach, which is leading people to think that it’s better for them to risk overdose and potentially death, is really harmful."Other prescribed drugs, such as medications for depression or diabetes, can also cause dependence at birth but are not typically reported, according to the study.says that physical dependence on an addictive drug must be investigated as possible child abuse.
“This change is designed to ensure that only those cases of newborns where there is a child protective factor get reported to DCF,” said Maria Mossaides, director of the Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate. “Mothers who are using medication that they need to be on don’t need to fear that they would be reported to DCF.”
The proposed change to state law stresses the importance of keeping families together by taking the welfare of both the mother and child into account.