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Hospitals gave patients meds during childbirth, then reported them for drug use
Mothers were reported after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections.
A day later, the grieving mother was cradling her stillborn daughter when a social worker stopped by her room to deliver another devastating blow: Salinas was being reported to child welfare authorities. Brian Heinemann, a spokesperson for the Indiana Department of Child Services, declined to comment on Villanueva’s case, but said policy has since changed to ensure that drug screen results alone are not used to substantiate an allegation of abuse or neglect. Hospital drug testing of pregnant women, which began in the 1980s and spread rapidly during the opioid epidemic, was intended in part to help identify babies who might experience withdrawal symptoms and need extra medical care.
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