How does percocet affect an unborn fetus

Then if you both decide that you need to take the opioids, you should work together to try to minimize the risks. Some of the ways to do this include. If you have been taking opioids and you become pregnant, contact your health care provider.

You should not stop taking the opioids on your own. If you suddenly stop taking opioids, it could cause severe health problems for you or your baby.

In some cases, stopping suddenly during pregnancy may be more harmful than taking the medicines. Many women who regularly take opioid medicines can breastfeed. It depends on which medicine you are taking. Check with your health care provider before breastfeeding. There are some women who should not breastfeed, such as those who have HIV or take illegal drugs. If you are pregnant and have an opioid use disorder, do not stop taking opioids suddenly.

Instead, see your health care provider so you can get help. The treatment for opioid use disorder is medication-assisted therapy MAT.

MAT includes medicine and counseling:. You may have an opioid use disorder if:. This is when you take too much of a drug. Overdose can slow or stop your breathing.

It can cause you to pass out and even die. Hepatitis is a virus that attacks the liver. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. You can pass infections like these to your baby during pregnancy. If you have opioid use disorder, you may have trouble taking care of yourself during pregnancy. For example, you may miss your prenatal care checkups and not make healthy choices for you and your baby. Depression is a medical condition that causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things you like to do.

It can affect how you feel, think and act and can interfere with your daily life. It needs treatment to get better. This can help prevent complications when you do get pregnant. Possible complications linked to opioid use during pregnancy may include:. Birth defects. Birth defects are health conditions that are present at birth. They change the shape or function of one or more parts of the body. Birth defects can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops or how the body works.

Birth defects associated with opioid use during pregnancy include:. Miscarriage or stillbirth. Miscarriage is the death of a baby in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy. Stillbirth is the death of a baby in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Neonatal abstinence syndrome also called NAS. NAS is when a baby is exposed to a drug in the womb before birth and goes through withdrawal from the drug after birth. NAS is most often caused when a woman takes opioids during pregnancy.

NAS can cause serious problems for a baby, like being born too small and having breathing problems. Even if you use an opioid exactly as your health care provider tells you to, it may cause NAS in your baby. Placental abruption. This is a serious condition in which the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus womb before birth. If this happens, your baby may not get enough oxygen and nutrients in the womb. And you may have serious bleeding.

The placenta grows in your uterus and supplies the baby with food and oxygen through the umbilical cord. This is a serious condition that can happen after the 20th week of pregnancy or right after pregnancy. Signs and symptoms of preeclampsia include having protein in the urine, changes in vision and severe headaches. Does taking oxycodone in pregnancy affect future learning or behavior for the child? Studies have not been done to see if oxycodone can cause behavior or learning issues for the child.

Some studies on opioids as a general group have found more problems with learning and behavior in children exposed to opioids for a long period of time during pregnancy. It is hard to tell if this is due to the medication exposure or other factors that may increase the chances of these problems.

What if I have been taking more oxycodone than recommended by my healthcare provider? Studies find that people that are pregnant who take opioids in higher doses or for longer than recommended by their healthcare providers i.

These include poor growth of the baby, stillbirth, preterm delivery, and the need for C-section. Some people who misuse opioids also have other habits that can result in health problems for themselves and their pregnancy.

For example, poor diet choices can lead to not having enough nutrients to support a healthy pregnancy and could increase the chance of miscarriage and preterm birth. Oxycodone gets into breast milk in small amounts. Talk with your healthcare provider or a MotherToBaby specialist about your medication, as information on breastfeeding might change based on your specific situation, such as the age of your baby, the dose of medication, and other factors.

Use of some opioids in breastfeeding could cause babies to be very sleepy and have trouble latching on. Some opioids can cause trouble with breathing. If you are using any opioid, talk to your healthcare provider about how to use the least amount for the shortest time and how to monitor watch your baby for any signs of concern.

Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider about all your breastfeeding questions. If a male takes oxycodone, could it affect fertility ability to get partner pregnant or increase the chance of birth defects?

Even more women of reproductive age on Medicaid fill prescriptions for opioids. Some of these women are pregnant at the time. Statistics show that nearly 15 percent of expectant mothers are prescribed opioids while pregnant. Many women and their loved ones wonder, is it safe to take oxycodone or hydrocodone while pregnant? Perhaps you are asking the same. You may be a few months into your pregnancy, but due to an injury, are wondering what types of painkillers you can take.

Maybe you have been taking a prescription opioid for some time, and just found out you are pregnant — should you stop? When a woman is pregnant, everything she consumes and puts into her body can affect the growing fetus.

For example, it is not recommended a woman drinks while she is pregnant. The same can be said for many medications — developing fetuses are very sensitive to substances and women should remain as drug-free as possible as a result. Some studies show that oxycodone or hydrocodone use during pregnancy can lead to an increased risk for adverse outcomes such as low birth weight, stillbirth, premature delivery, and c-section.

This is more commonly reported in those who had issues with opioid abuse, or, using the drugs in larger amounts than prescribed, and using them for longer than recommended by their doctor.