Drug Use and Human Milk: Legal and Child Welfare Considerations

Introduction Preventing new parents who use drugs from bonding with and bodyfeeding their babies undermines public health. Because U.S. culture treats substance use as a moral failing rather than a health concern, punitive responses to perinatal substance use continue to dominate. This is particular...

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Veröffentlicht in:Maternal and child health journal Jg. 27; H. 12; S. 2059 - 2063
Hauptverfasser: Reed, Anna, Redmon-Greene, Jaid, Thompson, Heather, Lusero, Indra
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: New York Springer US 01.12.2023
Springer
Schlagworte:
Analysis
Breast feeding
Child welfare
Commentary
Drug use
Gynecology
Harm reduction
Health aspects
Maternal and Child Health
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Methods
Mother and child
Mothers
Pediatrics
Physiological aspects
Population Economics
Public Health
Sociology
United States
Harm reduction
Family separation
Perinatal substance use
Breastfeeding
ISSN:1092-7875, 1573-6628, 1573-6628
Online-Zugang:Volltext
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Zusammenfassung:Introduction Preventing new parents who use drugs from bonding with and bodyfeeding their babies undermines public health. Because U.S. culture treats substance use as a moral failing rather than a health concern, punitive responses to perinatal substance use continue to dominate. This is particularly true for families of color, who are more likely to be targeted by the family regulation system. These approaches fail to protect families, and cause their own, separate harm. This article will lay out existing evidence surrounding bodyfeeding. Then, it will debunk harmful mythologies about drug use and human milk, and compare the risks associated with using drugs while bodyfeeding to those inherent in family separation. Finally, it will make the case for harm-reduction approaches over criminal ones. Objectives The health risks associated with family separation are only rarely weighed against those associated with drug exposure through human milk. Our objective for this paper is to contribute new ways of framing the importance of keeping families together at birth, even when perinatal substance use is detected. Methods This manuscript is not based upon clinical study or patient data, and exclusively references studies and research publications that have been approved by the appropriate ethics committee and which have therefore been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. Results Significant research data support the position that the risks associated with family separation are arguably greater than those associated with exposure to substance use in human milk. Conclusions for Practice Harm reduction approaches should be favored over criminal approaches when perinatal substance use is detected or confirmed. Significance The harms of family separation have already been well-documented by public health and social science researchers. The risks associated with substance use and human milk have also been the subject of significant academic research. However, the authors have not come across any articles that weigh the health risks associated with family separation against those associated with drug exposure through human milk. This paper contributes new ways of framing the importance of keeping families together at birth, even when perinatal substance use is detected.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:1092-7875
1573-6628
1573-6628
DOI:10.1007/s10995-023-03743-z