Pregnancy, Parenting and Harm Reduction
International Overdose Awareness Day - August 31
August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day- an international campaign to “end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind.” The campaign aims to spread the message that drug overdose is preventable and that people who use or have used drugs are valued.
When we talk about substance use and parenting, it is important to remember the principles of reproductive justice as defined by Sister Song: the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities! While prenatal care can eliminate many of the risks associated with substance use, parents and pregnant people who use drugs are often met with a lot of stigma from the community, which can discourage them from accessing the care they need and deserve.
The idea that a parent must stop substance use entirely to be healthy, considered a good parent, or to deserve support is often an unrealistic or simply an undesirable option for many parents who use drugs. Accessing quality prenatal and perinatal health care is everyone’s right, regardless of their substance use.
Birth Mark - Perinatal & Substance Misuse - Co-Created by TMU Students
Substance misuse during pregnancy often does not occur in isolation. It often exists alongside and is made worse by things like poverty, intimate partner violence, mental illness, family breakdown, and homelessness. Looking at substance use through a lens of abstinence also ignores the fact that many parents and pregnant people practice safe, controlled, and regulated substance use everyday with things like caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, prescription drugs, and more! Instead, we can look at drug use in a way that is rooted in harm reduction.
What is Harm Reduction?
Harm reduction is the philosophy and practice of reducing the amount of negative consequences that can come from potentially harmful behaviours. We see harm reduction practices in reproductive spaces all the time. It can look like: using protective barriers during sex, STI testing, or using car-seats in the car for children!
Harm reduction when it comes to drug use is no different. As an example, there are coffee shops, liquor stores, and bars where people can safely and legally buy and consume regulated substances, without stigma. For other substances, harm reduction can come in the form of safe-injection sites, syringe/needle exchange programs and education. These things reduce the amount of risk associated with the activity, and can help prevent fatal and non-fatal overdose.
Harm reduction also means looking at a person’s drug use through an individualized, trauma informed lens that acknowledges that people are more than just their substance use. This affirms people who use drugs that they deserve to be safe and embodies the principles of reproductive justice and bodily autonomy!
Common Myths
Some common myths around harm reduction are that it enables drug use. Instead, harm reduction just ensures people who already use drugs can do so more safely! An example of harm reduction is syringe exchange programs which have been responsible for a significant decrease in the transmission rates of HIV among drug users. Not having these options only creates more opportunities for risk and illness.
Another common myth is that it is impossible to be a drug user and a good parent. While this can be true, the two are not mutually exclusive! Many parents use drugs, and this can look like the occasional drink, cigarette or joint. Drug use doesn’t make you a bad parent, and not all drug use is chaotic. The negative impacts that come with substance use and parenting is often not the substance itself, but an unregulated supply, unsafe equipment, stigma, and the threat of child protective services and incarceration. BIPOC parents face an even greater threat from these things due to institutionalized racism and higher rates of poverty.
Studies have also shown that not all drug use while breastfeeding is inherently dangerous to baby, nor does it result in genetic disposition to addiction or developmental issues.
International Overdose Awareness Day
On this International Overdose Awareness Day, we can commit to the calls to action to end overdose by reducing the harms associated with drug use, and ending the stigma around drug use and parenting. We can acknowledge the parents we know and love who use drugs everyday, while advocating for safer ways to do so!
One way we can take action today is getting trained in Naloxone. Naloxone (also known as Narcan) is a drug that reverses the effect of opioids and can prevent fatal overdose. Anyone in Ontario with an OHIP card can get a Naloxone kit for free from their local pharmacy!
Breaking the Cycle is a program from Mothercraft that provides one-on-one support for mothers and pregnant people to address substance use in parents and substance-exposed children in Downtown Toronto.
See the list below for some more resources and support around harm reduction, drug use, and parenting.
Educational Resources & Support for Parents Who Use Drugs
Substance Misuse and Perinatal Care Resources - Birth Mark
Mothercraft - Breaking the Cycle
Pregnancy and Substance Use: A Harm Reduction Toolkit
Substances and Lactation Fact Sheet
National Harm Reduction Coalition
Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction
Local Harm Reduction Organizations