Pregnancy and alcohol addiction

[antondisilva123]

My sister is pregnant. Her delivery is expected to be by September. We are waiting to see our new member. But the problem is, she is addicted alcohol and very much into smoking. We are planning to take her to Edgewood ( www.edgewood.ca/ )addiction center at Columbia. But the problem is will it be good to undergo a treatment at this point of time? Will this center provide all care and facilities to a pregnant lady? Will it benefit my sister? Is it too late for an addiction treatment?

[Pandora2016]

Maybe this is not the right time for her to become a mother.

[MyKingdomForBrie]

Bit late for that Pandora, she'll be 21 - 24 weeks by now!

OP call the rehab centre and talk to them, I'd say rehab right now is a great idea in the right facility.

[Pandora2016]

Still the legal limit.

Very sad all round.

[Euripidesralph]

Op ...I want to make my experience clear because it's important to get the right info here , I've spent 15 years in addiction services including running mother and baby units and female only rehab.

Firstly under no circumstances should she suddenly stop drinking without very clear specialist medical intervention....unplanned alcohol detox is dangerous for anyone but especially in pregnancy

Detox and rehab may be an option....it's worth bearing in mind alcohol Detox often includes benzos which isn't great but manageable and there are other options

Most areas have specialist alcohol and pregnancy clinics with specially trained staff so go to her local service with her and they can get her in.

She certainly needs to see someone asap with specialist training as FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) is a concern

Please ensure the rehab is researched carefully as there are some crappie ones out there

My suggestion is to Google your areas DAAT and they will advise your local agency who can start referral processes or ask at the GPS or midwives. Alcohol addiction is extremely underestimated and misunderstood. ..I honestly don't mean to scare you but get her support very soon and they will get great support

Please feel free to pm me for further info

[Euripidesralph]

Sorry...are you in the states? The rest of my advice absolutely still stands but obviously the DAAT wouldn't be applicable

[Euripidesralph]

And pandora. ... addiction can be resolved whilst it's not the ideal time and hard as hell ....it's not OK to automatically assume the best option is not to continue with it...whilst that might be an option and completely understandable if the mother makes that choice I'm amazed you thought that was an OK response

[RockMeMomma]

Does your sister admit to her addiction and want help? Sadly, if she isn't willing to seek help for herself, there is no point putting her in a treatment centre. Any detox will need to be done under medical supervision for the safety of both her and her baby.

[Euripidesralph]

Totally agree with the above but be warned if she chooses not to engage or isn't ready I would expect a professional will put a child protection referral in , just so you are expecting it

[marryoneorbecomeone]

Euripidesralph you have mail!

[Jackie0]

Honestly I agree with Pandora.
Of course everything rests with your sister.
Does she want rehab?
Does she want to continue with the pregnancy?
Would she aim to raise the child herself ?
She is going to need a lot of specialist support , some she will need to be on board with and some she will have little say in by which I mean child protection will want to ensure her child is having his or her needs met.
I can't imagine how worrying this must be for your family , I hope there is a happy conclusion .

[Pinkheart5915]

I don't dis agree with Pandora but it's hardly the time for that kind of comment as its done now, so it's about helping to get the OP sis over this.

Does you sister admit she has a problem and want help? This is important because you can't force detox on to people that don't want it.

Call the clinic for advice with her being pregnant, they will know what to advise for best.

I've got no experience of this but my sister we adopted as a baby and she was born with drug withdrawal she had a tough time after being born. I know your sis is alcohol addicted but it could still cause the baby harm.

I wish you all the best in helping your sis and hope it works out ok

[Jackie0]

I believe FAS may be worse , there is no cure.

[Pandora2016]

I tried to put it as kindly as possible, but I grew up around alcoholism, have seen people die from it and know someone who has FAS.

Sometimes difficult things need to be said.

[Jackie0]

They do.

[Euripidesralph]

Sorry have just seen this will check my mail now

[antondisilva123]

Thank you all my dear ones for your reply.
We have been talking to her about this since last week , we are trying to convince her. She wanted to stop this addiction now. And we don't wanna loose that baby. We want that baby to be healthy too. Next week we have fixed an appointment with her Doc. We are waiting to listen what her Doc would say as some suggested here.
Hoping to give a good news here by the end of next week.
And once again thank you for all your suggestion. All your suggestions and ideas were valuable.