An ice-addicted mother has given birth to a son despite using the drug for seven months during her pregnancy before a detox program saved her.
Kaitlyn, 25 was using ice every day until she escaped a life of drugs when she heard her son’s heartbeat.
The expectant mother was in denial about her pregnancy, hiding her baby bump under baggy clothes, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘Then I saw his heartbeat and was shocked; that’s when it all changed for me and I thought, I’m done (with drugs),’ she said.
An ice-addicted mother has given birth to a son despite using the drug for seven months during her pregnancy
She had asked for an abortion of the baby one miserable autumn morning, but staff at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital refused, the publication reported.
The 25-year-old overcame her addiction with the help of social workers through the Pregnancy Family Conference Program.
She received help at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and was accommodated at Kathleen York House in Glebe, New South Wales.
Kaitlin believes the child would have been taken away from her if it was not for the program, a joint initiative between the NSW Family and Community Services and NSW Health.
Kaitlyn, 25 was using ice every day until she escaped a life of drugs when she heard her son’s heartbeat.
‘It would have been very scary and Sam would probably have been removed from me, absolutely,’ she said according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The program intervenes when the newborn is at risk of being taken away from the mother and there are ‘serious child protection concerns’, according to the program’s website.
Since the program began in 2012, referrals have increased and it has ‘become embedded’ in the practice of social work staff in hospitals.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kathleen House, the Minister for Families and Communities and the Department of Health for comment.
*Kaitlyn is a pseudonym name.
Kaitlin received help at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and was accommodated at Kathleen York House in Glebe, New South Wales