Maternal bereavement in the perinatal substance abuser

Relationship between Custodial Status and Psychosocial Problems among Cocaine‐Abusing Parents Initiating Substance Abuse Treatment

“…Both subscales measure social withdrawal and isolation, 39 rather than schizophrenia, 43 and may reflect loss of family cohesion 44 associated with custody loss. Parents who retain custody and maintain the parental role may be protected against depression 15 . On the other hand, psychological problems, including depression, may precipitate custody loss 45,46 and be exacerbated by loneliness.…”

“…Indeed, many men and women stop using drugs and alcohol in anticipation of 9,10 or soon after adopting the parental role; 11,12 conversely, an increase in alcohol and drug use has been reported after the loss of the parenting role 13–16 . Based on these data, we would expect that mothers and fathers who have lost custody of their children would have experienced more severe past substance abuse problems than parents who have maintained custody.…”

“…The loss of the parenting role may have important consequences, including high levels of emotional distress 16,26 and depression 15 . Factors that mediate the severity of the distress include how central the maternal and paternal roles are in the culture 8,19,27,28 or in the life of the parent 16,29 .…”

The management of late fetal death: a guide tocomprehensive care

“…If there is any doubt about maternal glucose tolerance, a glucose tolerance test should be performed at 28 weeks in any future pregnancy. Maternal urine should be sent for toxicology screening, but care must be taken not to cause the mother guilt if the test result is positive 7 . Other investigations may include infection serology on fetal blood and bacteriology on the placenta and fetal membranes.…”

Toxicomanie et maternité

“…Les écrits cliniques traitant de l'expérience de ces femmes pendant la grossesse insistent sur la culpabilité et sur la honte qu'elles ressentent devant l'éventua-lité de complications néonatales ou de présence de malformations congénitales chez leur enfant (Jones et Reeds, 1992 ;Raskin, 1992). L'auteure d'une étude décrivant le deuil réel ou anticipé chez des femmes enceintes abusant de SPA écrit que presque toutes les femmes rencontrées craignaient de perdre la garde de leur bébé, que certaines se retenaient même de s'attacher au foetus pour cette raison et présentaient un risque élevé de faire un bébé de remplacement si on leur retirait leur enfant (Raskin, 1992). Enfi n, deux phénomènes sont considérés par plusieurs auteurs comme des prédicteurs de la toxicomanie maternelle : la consommation parentale (Hutchins, 1997) et le fait d'avoir été abusée physiquement et sexuellement (Wilsnack et al, 1997 ;Alexander, 1996).…”