past drug use

[ch1134]

Midwife has asked for lots of information including if I or partner has ever taken illegal drugs. Why do they need to know this?

I'm not sure, though can't remember my midwife asking the question...
Could have been told evaluate any potential risks to the pregnancy though?

For both health and child protection reasons.

Medical history is very important for the care of your baby, that includes any substance abuse! It's not a personal attack on you specifically it's just to give you and your baby the best care

Um. They don't.

What I mean is - the odd bit of drug taking in your teens or whatever will be completely irrelevant and no point in mentioning it.

They don't, can understand if you were still drug taking while pregnant but if not none of their business

Because amongst other reasons, you could be HIV/AIDS from sharing needles etc. which would then have implications.

Standard question, don't feel like the are judging you on appareance or anything, they ask us all.

I didn't get asked.

I didn't get asked this and you would be rested for aids/HIV in your initial screening anyway.

Are you relatively young op? As I know a few younger expectant mums being asked this, particularly regarding legal highs lately.

I wouldn't reveal anything!

I did, that I'd tried things when I was younger and she wrote that I was a cocaine user. I was treated like crap by anyone who read it (including a consultant who accused me of being high) and had to get my consultant to note on the system that this was a years previous I had tried them and that I was never a regular user. I was accused of all sorts when codine I'd taken showed up as morphine (confirmed that they can confuse on tests, I'd been drug tested for the second time) and was beside myself. I moved hospitals and was treated like crap and questioned by paeds after DS was born and info passed to HVs.

Should maybe add am in Scotland and in our notes it's on the questions list of things to be asked, so here they all get asked, might be different elsewhere.

Personally i think it's fair enough to ask.

Its also an idea of social situation which is important with children and babies. cocaine is the worst drug to take in terms of damage to the fetus.

Agree with janey223 don't mention it, with my first pregnancy I told them that I had smoked cannabis at university but not touched it in years and that DP had used cocaine in his youth, which was even more years ago! She put recreational user on my notes and I was questioned a lot per it everytime anyone read my notes!!

With this pregnancy the midwife asked me about it again at my booking in so I told her the story and what had happened with it being brought up again and again and she said it was ludicrous and they don't need to know about any historical use like that, she removed it from my history, so haven't had any problems this time round thankfully!!

Cocaine isn't the worst drug you can take during pregnancy, certainly not one off use anyway.

My midwife asked me this on Monday at booking in appointment. I just said yes I dabbled as a student many moons ago. They didn't ask about DH. They also asked about 200 other questions, I was in there 1.5 hours.

I agree with Janey and have had a similar experience. I was asked and was honest saying I was a previous drug user and it was put in my notes. I had to see an obstetrician recently and he treated me like crap and I didn't know why. A week later I got a copy of a letter to the gp from him through the post and in it he stated that I was a drug user. He had not said anything to me about it whatsoever but was really quite rude throughout. I now know why.

He did however repeatedly ask me during the appointment if I had given up smoking, which I have. He then scheduled me in for growth scans at 28, 32 and 36 weeks because "smoking can make the baby seriously underweight". He also made some seriously iffy comments regarding my mental health diagnosis. I realise now that I'm obviously a chain smoking mental druggie that cant be trusted.

It's such a shame they can't understand the difference between past and present.

At the fist appointment they ask so many questions. Also about your mental health. I've had, some time ago, a serious depression. But I kept quiet about it.

They're there to help... but it feels like that if you'd really need there help with, let's say drug use, or other problems.
They first think about the child and then you.

Instead of thinking first of you. Because when you as a mother are doing well the baby is doing well too.

At my booking-in I was asked if I'd recently taken drugs (last 12 months I think), which seems a more reasonable question. Wouldn't like anyone to delve too deeply into my murky past but it is most definitely the past and has been for years!

I was asked the question too. I was also asked if exdp and I were cousins, I replied "Not as far as we know", with a little giggle and the look she gave me was less than impressed with my little joke.

My midwife asked me, I said I'd occasionally smoked cannibis before pregnant and she just said 'don't worry about that, as long as you don't do drugs now' and wrote 'nothing' on my notes

I got asked loads of questions, maybe as my booking appointment clinic was in a deprived area of London. They asked if I had been domestically abused too. If I helps protect mums and babies I don't care what they ask tbh!