My Experience Giving Birth in Recovery.

I debated with myself about whether or not to share my story. There is such a stigma around addiction. And it is even more polarizing when it comes to pregnant women who are struggling in active addiction or in medication-assisted recovery.

Being a pregnant woman on top of being an addict carries the most stigma. - Tricia Wright, substance abuse expert

I decided to share my experience because statistics show that every 15 minutes a baby in the United States is born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Which is according to the March of Dimes, a group of symptoms caused when a baby withdraws from certain prescription or illegal opioids he’s exposed to before birth. If we are to believe the country is in the grips of an opioid epidemic, then the instances of NAS are going to continue to trend upwards. And I know how scary it is to find out you are pregnant in the midst of addiction.

During a very traumatic time in my life when I was dealing with (or rather avoiding) the prospect of losing the most important person in my life, I made the foolish decision to try and self medicate with heroin. I had no coping skills and watching the woman I called mother be destroyed by cancer was far too much for my sensitive soul to bare. It wasn’t my brightest idea…