I'm an RN...I looked after NICU babies born on drugs for years...and it was the hardest thing about the job...their screaming is relentless and u can hear their pain...and there is NOTHING u can do. It's hell.

Withdrawals were so bad I contemplated suicide. Thank God i'm almost one year clean. Edit: Thank you so much for all the kind and encouraging replies. That certainly wasn't my intent. I still greatly appreciate it!! You've given me even more strength 😘

The thought of a newborn baby suffering is sickening to me. It literally brings tears to my eyes. They don't deserve that. Not only did they not ask to be here, but they have to be born in pain???

That woman's lip piercing is severely infected and it hurts me to look at

Hearing that dope sick baby crying may be the most painful thing I’ve ever heard.

I was born heroin addicted and I'm now 46 .. this saddens me .. the reason being, selfish decisions made by the mother any mother who continues to use during pregnancy there is no excuse! My birth mother ended up putting me up for adoption because I was a very difficult baby ... hmm I wonder why? lucky for me the family who adopted me where fantastic, loving kind and patient. Thanks to my birth mother I have learning disabilities, ADD and addictive behaviors not to mention extreme mood swings . This is what happens to babies who are exposed to drugs who then become adults. I just wanted to share my story of a person who was drug addicted at birth .. we do grow and we do have problems .. please don't put your infant through this .

My half sister had twins...addicted to heroin and cocaine. Been raising them since they were born (I started taking care of them when I was 20 years old) They are 2 now. We took her to court to get custody...she wants the money she gets for them so won't give them up. Pray the courts will make the right decision. The kids almost didn't make it. Were born under 3 pounds and in the hospital for over a month after birth. Prayers please!!! Next court date is January 10th. Pray for kenzlee and Keller!!! Keep them safe Lord amen!

that girls Monroe is either A: rejecting Or B: seriously infected. I couldn't focus on this video because of it.

Doc tried to give me Percocet multiple times to take home after my c section, despite me saying multiple times that I didn’t want it and that I was breastfeeding. I didn’t even need it. Even while at the hospital they had me on Ibuprofen. Decided to go with just Ibuprofen and it was the best decision I ever made.

*That newborn’s cry was utterly heartbreaking!* 💔

She need to take that nasty piercing out....

Wait wait wait. They prescribed you something & didn’t tell you what it was? On top of it you took them not knowing what they were??

I was always so against mothers that would put their babies through this. It use to make me so angry and I would want these mothers to suffer. After watching these documentaries I understand now that it is a horrible crisis and these poor women are victims as well. And do not mean to put these babies through this. Most of them are just in pain and just want to relieve this pain. And some of them hurt themselves once and were prescribed and then became addicted immediately....

Opoids have an important place in medicine but ANY time they're prescribed, the minimum-necessary should be given and there should be a plan for coming off them.

My younger sister was a nursing sister in neonate intensv care ward in Australia and she said the worst sound she dealt with was an addicted baby to heroine

If you can get opioids in Canada for free you should pick up birth control pills at the same time.

Letting a newborn go through withdrawl is not medically recommended because it has been shown to cause developmental delay as well as learning disabilities, and even death. A tiny amount of morphine is given over the period of 4 days, not four weeks and the baby is fine. Saying you don't want your baby to be on morphine because you don't want them "to stay in the NICU" is absurd and irresponsible.

Wow the drop from 80%-20% is amazing for rooming in. I wish all hospitals would do this!

My baby was born on methadone. I was on birth control, and hadn't had a baby in 15 years. I was scared and felt so guilty. I had been clean for years already...but when I got on methadone I was never told it was harder to get off than heroin. Where I was in the USA, they took her to NICU immediately. I fought to get her in a private room within the NICU so I could stay the night with her. I love how these docs advocate for parents to take care of their babies bc it definitely helps. She is now a perfectly healthy 2 year old. In fact, she's VERY healthy as I made all her baby food myself and have always been very attentive to her physical, mental and emotional needs. More than most parents I've seen. She's also exceptionally smart.

This has taught me that I could never be a healthcare professional, because I'm too judgemental

This is one of the most profound and eye-opening programs I've ever seen. To actually address addiction and everybody else who suffers from it the fact that you're looking at these mothers as people- just people and learning telling the world that they're not bad people they are all dealing with demons and everyone out there, all of us, are all dealing with our own demons, this one is the one that can, and will actually kill you, because that's what it does, it robs you of everything you've ever thought about yourself and then to have to prepare and bring another human into the world, I'm astounded and I actually feel a glimpse of hope for once that somebody somewhere is watching this and does not feel hopelessness

That shaky crying is completely heart-shattering. You can tell it's a newborn baby in distress just from the sound of the cries.

The babies cry made me physically hurt inside. I know she’s scared and confused and in pain.

This was a very informative video. Clearly these women feel bad and regret what happened. Yet people still feel the need to judge and input their holier than thou im better than you comments. A lot of people don't ask for help because of people like you. They're scared that if they tell someone, that someone will just judge them the way you all are judging these women.

That pityful crying at the beginning. Poor babies.

I'm going to come clean and admit what I have done. My daughter... My first born child, was born last night at 3:54 a.m... withdrawing of opioids. I had been doing heroin regrettably and selfishly and when she would not stop screaming in pain... my nurse came and told us her urine was tested positive and she is withdrawing. My heart sank to the floor and I couldnt stop crying... I have no right to feel anything, to most of the people who WILL tell me that I shouldn't cry because I chose to do it knowing she was in my belly. I get it. I'm a HORRIBLE person. I have to hear what i have done through my daughter's screams... her grandmother's cries... The Lord will never forgive me and I just... HAD to let this out, even if it was on a KZfaq comment. Now... CPS is involved. And they're is a strong possibility that I will not have her. Most of you are going to say that damn right I don't deserve her... Look what I'm doing to her... I don't deserve her.... But I'm going to fight for her. Bend over backwards, do WHATEVER I have to do to make sure she doesn't go into the system. I will withdrawl cold turkey every day for the rest of my life if it means I can have my daughter in my arms again and be able to come home with me.... I am a horrible person, mother, and I will live with this for the rest of my life and I accept it. New mother's who are also using while pregnant.... Stop. Go tell your doctor the truth and get help right away. Hearing those screams will destroy you worse than withdrawl... God Bless.

I am so proud of these health professionals and mothers who have actively sought out the help they needed to give themselves and their baby a good life. Well done!

The only funny thing about this video is that they called our health system great.

I blame the doctors and nurses for not informing them of the medication and what they're intended for and what they do and the possibility to becoming addicted. They're supposed to help them taper off slowly...

Seeing those babies withdraw in real life is one of the most heartbreaking things. Good for the medical staff for being so non judgemental- it’s so hard to not feel anger or resentment towards the parents..

I was fostercarer for newborn babies with alcohol and opioids withdrawal,i did this for 18 yrs. It broke my heart what these babies went through , the love was so strong and attachment . Im retired now.❤❤

This makes me cry! I’m 6 months pregnant and couldn’t imagine putting my baby through this pain

Something they state in the video is that addiction is not a selfish choice, it’s a scary loss of choice. The reasons for wanting to start doing drugs are plenty and all saddening, but in no way should you blame someone for continuing to use when they’re pregnant because they have no choice. Addiction is a disease, proven multiple times, and what this hospital does for addicted mothers is amazing. But we have to remember that these mothers are humans who have probably had horrible lives and have ended up in the wrong places, and the way we heal people is not through ignorance but through kindness and care. I hope some day I can be the person to help other people in trouble, and this inspires me. Once again, thank you to this hospital and their staff who recognize these problems and misunderstandings and work to provide wonderful care for these mothers and their babies.

Addiction doesnt discriminate.

Did she just clean the floor and with the same rag clean her baby's eating table... ok

Pleassssssse take that lip ring out. It wants outttt.

God bless the nurses who take care of these little ones. That has to be the most heartbreaking job there is.

I was prescribed a very low dose of Subutex while I was pregnant. I was a 14 year opioid addict. I got on the subutex 1 year prior to pregnancy. And me and my doc agreed to lower the dose way down while I was pregnant. Only took 2mg a day. And thankfully my baby girl was born completely healthy! No withdraws and never separated from me ❤️🙏 she’s almost 8 now and is SO smart and whitty. I’m thankful for subutex it seriously saved my life

This was a heartbreaking story in the beginning... I'm so happy to hear they've found proper help and are motivated about living happy, healthy Lives for themselves and their beautiful children. Love to all. ♥

My friend birthed an addicted baby, that little girl was in pain, and as a baby she was suffering!! I couldn't stand the sound of hearing her scream, as he she grow up she had a lot of mental issues, and when she turned 14 she was drug addicted .....it's a road to nowhere

Kudos to all the mums that cleaned up and stuck by their babies. I'm thankful that I was able to come off all opids before my baby was even conceived. I quit cold turkey and the withdrawals was horrendous. I truly believe if I were to be pregnant at that time I would've either risked miscarriage to come clean. I know not everyone would agree with me and I hold no judgment to anyone. We all must take our own rd. But I truly admire every mother that has the courage and strength to help their child.

Eww she wiped the floor then wiped the kids tray table with the same rag 🤮

Suboxone saves my life. I have no doubts that I would have died from my addiction if I would not have gotten help.

Hearing those babies cry just breaks my heart 💔

I found out i was pregnant 3 weeks ago and I'm in a treatment program and as soon as I found out i was pregnant I told my Doctor at the treatment center that I wanted to get out of treatment so my baby wouldn't suffer after it is born and they are very supportive. They told me that either way, the baby will be fine so Im going to get off of treatment. Nothing at all is wrong if you don't. It is just my personal decision.

Wow...that baby cry at the beginning is just...I wish I could take in all the suffering babies in the world

Addiction is hard your whole world is based around that addictions, you dream it, you wish for it, you lie to get it, you steel to get it and it’s flipping hard... sadly in some situations not even your little kicks in you tummy is enough to stop it.. I couldn’t imagine been pregnant with an addition but I’m 100% sure they did not want to hurt there babies...

3 years clean now! Now I'm getting married and just need to quit smoking, which my fiance is helping me do. Quitting both smoking and drugs is really difficult, especially when you have pain and mental disabilities

I was 19 when a doctor gave me Percocet. I had broken my right eye socket from a game. They sent me home with four pills. In the morning I took one and was laying on the couch my heart slowed and I felt like I was moving so slow. I started crying and yelled for my dad. I didn’t like these and threw the rest away.

This breaks my heart. Addiction is a real thing. U can’t judge this mother unless u know how it feels and been through it.

Thank you for being so candid regarding your struggle.

Awesome doctor! Had compassion which is Soo very rare in these times!

This should have been common sense a long time ago.

Had to stop watching, that piercing was NASTY.

No one says “I want to be a junkie when I grow up”. Even baby’s born to this can live a life free from drugs and would never know they was born in this if no one told them (unless there born with some type of deformed) the whole situation is messed up.

The crying at the start hurt my soul 😭

The judgement is not about the fact that one is an addict.....its the fact that you have a baby and get pregnant while on drugs

I am a type 1 diabetic and yeah u might say diabetic has nothing to do with drugs but let me tell u my child was born suffering for a week sugar withdraws in a nicu so imagine with the drug and prescription one I cried every night not having my child over an illness so ladies pls stop

That cry from the baby just shattered my soul...wish I could transfer his pain to me ...I know the feeling of heroine withdraw and just hearing that poor baby go through it ...💔💔

I have been in withdrawals many times and I don’t wish that on anybody else especially a baby. I hate to see this mama suffering and that baby. I know they don’t mean for their baby to be addicted to anything. It’s just so hard to get off opioids and even more so for someone pregnant I would think. I’m so thankful that I wasn’t on anything when I had my 3 children. They were born in good health and I was so terrified to drink or take anything when I was pregnant. I hope and pray these families recover and are healthy and happy ❤

I feel supremely lucky that I had been off of suboxone for 3 months before getting pregnant with my twins. But I know that this wouldn't have been an option for me if I had still been on it. This is amazing to me. I was on pain pills for 10 years, suboxone for 3. And i chose to stop myself, and I am so very thankful that i have 3 years off of any substances. (I started pain meds for endometriosis at age 17) Not all women who are addicted to opiates are shitty people. It was just so easy to be prescribed at the time I started. I didn't even know the risks once i began. It wasnt until much later that i knew about addiction and the withdrawal cycle of opiates.

Addiction is SO BAD but overcoming that addiction is THE WORST. Thank God I stopped for my baby. 19 weeks pregnant and 20 weeks clean

I had my first major hip surgery when I was 12 which created a 2 inch leg discrepancy on my right side. It caused me multiple back issues, including herniated discs, monthly sciatica pain, scoliosis, etc. Then I got a hip replacement in 2018. I was ONLY 25. I live with daily pain issues and it's such a struggle to get what I need to walk and even I'm one of the lucky ones. People in pain shouldn't have to suffer bc of addicted people!

I didn't think they could send a baby that is born addicted home with the mother if she is still using

It's kind of strange, my mom was addicted to opiods while she was pregnant with me. I think the good news is, I was born relatively normal.

I tried being a nurse studied for it, but as soon as I was on that floor for the very first time oh no. I got through the day, but once I was home I began crying. Need to be strong to do this job.

I'm a Nurse practitioner in the NICU. These are the babies I care for daily. Our hospital now has a special ward & NICU for babies going through withdrawal. We have 25 beds & they are always full. Babies spend anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months on our ward. We have 1 pediatrician, 2 Nurse practitioner, 8 RNs & 8 techs. These babies need constant 24/7 care. They need to be held almost constantly. They have trouble feeding, they shake, sweat, gag, vomit, diarrhea & scream. We use morphine to help ease the symptoms & taper them down. We do lose babies to withdrawal. They develope seizures, heart failure & failure to thrive. I'm now pregnant with twins baby girls & I could never imagine my girls going through that, ever.

I see happy, well cared for babies. These mothers are brave in sharing their stories and they're good mothers

I want to lay down and hold the baby until they stop crying

Bless these woman. They share truth and from truth comes honesty. From honesty comes recovery.

Rooming in does make a huge difference I hope this will be the new wave and option for mother’s cause I’ve seen both sides and it’s not 100% that rooming in prevents morphine or medication for all infants but it does make a huge difference!! Praying this will continue to become the new norm! Keeping your baby calmer and the mommas involved is a win win for everyone!!

I'm Canadian and have been an opioid addict since I was 16. I'm 35 now. When I can convince a doctor to give me a prescription my life takes a drastic turn for the better. I no longer have to commit crime and I start working and being a productive member of society. And most importantly I start attending 12 step meetings and focusing on recovering from the reasons I use drugs. And I use less in terms of how many milligrams I take per day. Everything we think we know about addiction is wrong and we need to start looking at it from a different perspective. When that prescription is taken away my life falls apart. I either either quit my job or get fired, I start stealing and most importantly I stop focusing on recovery. We need to change the way we look at drug addiction. Punishment doesn't work. We need to give addicts choice. I'm not going to stop using until I want to stop and no amount of regulation or law is going to make me want to. I'm not saying anything here that many people don't already know, but it's the people in power that are capable of making the changes that Canada needs and until they do this epidemic will continue.

I am glad they realized the importance of putting babies and moms together.

17:07 - Made my heart ache.🥺💔 There's still so much stigma in our society condemning addicts/addiction, so I cannot thank these doctors and specialists enough for all the work they do. 👨🏻‍⚕️🏥🙏🏻👏🏻🎗❤🧡💛💚💙💜🎗

Im currently pregnant on suboxone, I was tapering to come off it after a few years of being in treatment, but once finding i was pregnant, I talked to my suboxone Dr today and we talked about not continuing my taper until after having the baby. I care more about my baby's welfare then mine now. I just fear my baby will score high or something or have a hard time, im not on a high dose but I still pray that everything will be just fine 🙏

I bet they never imagined it would be where it is today.

Proud of these mommies for telling their stories! It's so inspirational to so many people! ❤️

I really liked the outlook of this doctor.

I got pregnant while on narcotics pain meds for a 3rd degree burn. I was glad I called my doctor before I just stopped my meds because I had no idea that you can't stop them while pregnant! This was 13 years ago, so I had to go on Methadone. It was the most awful thing to see my baby go through the withdrawals. She had a bad case of withdrawal. The one good thing was knowing she would be healthy after she was off. She is now 13, and she is a normal, healthy teen. There are no drugs in my life anymore!

My heart is breaking, hands tingling hearing that baby cry 😢

I have a friend who works in a de tox clinic. He said the oddest thing people say about addiction is that from the first time they used they felt "normal" Not like they got something extra, just normal. He thinks this indicates some chemical imbalance in the addictive personality. I think it bears some study about what is perceived as feeling "normal" physically or mentally. Doesn't it seem like it would be good to see why people choose feeling "normal". Thank goodness for the compassionate doctor who is not the puritanical physician who sees addicts as defective human beings. How many mothers would it take to convince the hospital that removing an addicted infant from their mothers would be the best thing for them? Ridiculous to remove an infant for any reason. Thank god more intelligent policies prevailed at that hospital.

Oh my gosh. When she said “it made me feel normal”……bruh. That is the same thing I told everybody when I was addicted to fentanyl. I mean it was true but it was also a cop out. Oh my gosh I’m so so so glad that’s over for me. Withdrawal is hell on earth.

This is a great and informative video.

Its people like this that have made it so hard for people like me who are in real pain such as chronic cancer and I cannot get pain relievers at all due to doctors now refusing to prescribe them. I have to suffer because some people chose to indirectly demonize opiates by taking them to get high then becoming addicted. Thank you very much while I die a slow death in pain

I am on methadone and found out I was pregnant while on birth control. The whole pregnancy I knew there was a chance my son would be born dependent to methadone so I prepared for it. In my state if you're on methadone or subs and have a baby, that baby has to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 5 days for testing. Thankfully when my son was born he did perfect and wasnt dependent on methadone at all! We also didn't even have to stay the 5 days, we only had to stay 3 😁😊 I pray for babies who arent as lucky as my son daily🧡

Geez, and here I am feeling guilty because I was only able to breastfeed my baby for only 15 months instead of 2 years

This place is outstanding, I love this so much.

Came here after watching Losing Isaiah on Amazon Prime during COVID19. Its so sad because most mothers had a tough childhood and were exposed to unsafe environments resulting in their addiction. I hope they'll stop being judged so harshly but get help earlier on in life.

Poor babies. 😭😭😭 My heart breaks for them.

Such an innocent life going through so much.... this is so painful

I’ve been on methadone since 2011. Started taking OxyContin in 2010. Got pregnant in 2017 and had my baby in 2018. Luckily by that point I had been on methadone long enough that my body was metabolizing it all before it got to my baby. He was born healthy and didn’t go through any withdrawal and I was so grateful for that. I know about 7 kids that were born to mothers on opioids and only one went into withdrawal after birth because the mother had just gotten on methadone during her pregnancy so her body was not used to the drug and unable to metabolize it before it got to her baby. So as long as you’ve been on it for a while, your baby should be okay. Suboxone is safest for patients but methadone is safer than suboxone for pregnant women

As a opiate addict myself that cry instantly smashed me to pieces and had me tearing up. That baby didn't have a choice and the first thing it gets to experience in this world is the agonizing pain of withdrawl. That's not fair and it's just wrong. No child should ever have to know that pain especially a newborn. Please stay away from heroin! That high isn't worth doing this to ur child. And I'm not religious rrally at all but tonight I'm praying that baby is OK and living a happy life now.

We have known this for years YET Drs still keep giving them out. Drug dealers with a license

Brilliantly explained. Only until society finds an alternative lifestyle to painful experiences or something like that. And she said, she had to learn how to fold laundry , go to work.......I value Canadian channels all the programs are just presented in a far deeper manner

Thank you for sharing!!!

This is exactly why I got clean off of prescription pain meds. I had an addiction that went on for way too long and didnt know how to get out of it. Thank god my daughter came along and she really saved me because if it wasnt for her I would still probably be addicted to this day. As soon as i got pregnant I pictured the worst case scenerio which would have been what happened to most of these precious opioid addicted babies. I for one refused to put my baby through that and knowing how harsh withdrawals were I refused to let my own baby go through that. I got off the drugs and was prescribed a low dose of methadone and even though it was low I was still worried of her being effected by it and was warned that she may go through withdrawals. Sometimes some babies will barely be affected if the dose is low enough OR they will go through hell but I knew I was being carefully monitored by doctors and they all knew what to do in any scenerio. I cant imagine throwing my baby into those circumstances by keeping things secret like alot of mothers have done. FACT: No ones going to judge you! if they d they are a piece of shit because you are doing nothing but trying to better yourself for you and your baby! A very selfless act! If you do nothing and make your child go through that when you could have prevented it you probably will get judged for that and you well derserved that! I know theres women who are scared, pregnant and reading this right now! Dont be! Go to an doctor and they will help you, they wont take your baby away or your rights so dont worry!! Only time children's aid gets involved is if you use other drugs besides what's prescribed! Follow that simple rule and you will be fine :)

I’ve had pregnancy related sciatica - not tacked anything for it but that pain has been out of this world .

I took suboxone while pregnant and my baby did wonderful. She didn't have any withdrawal

Right off th3 bat the cry in th3 beginning is all to familiar. I was born addicted and with Fasd and am from Ontario. My adoptive parents focused on fostering addicted babies. Still breaks my heart, probably more now. My birth mother died from her lifestyle

the though of a baby suffering withdrawals is too depressing and I also wanna thank the mothers for shearing their stories.