John

A nurse at the local hospital contacted DHR to report that a newborn, named John Jopper, tested positive at birth for OxyContin. He is showing no apparent signs of addiction at this time. The birth was uneventful but the child will remain in the hospital for the next few days because of jaundice. A social worker made an immediate response to the hospital to observe the child and interview his
parents. Mrs. Jopper had just completed her bath and was awaiting the arrival of her son for his morning feeding. She stated her intention to breastfeed her child. The social worker informed Mrs. Jopper of the report received earlier this morning. Mrs. Jopper denied her misuse of substances and stated that she had a prescription for the drug. According to her, it was prescribed to her for an injury received in a game of tennis two months prior to her becoming pregnant. She said the doctor told her it was “fine” for her to take this medicine while pregnant. Worker proceeded to the hospital nursery to observe the infant. A nurse was preparing to take him to his mother’s room to be fed. Information was given that the baby was doing well, except for jaundice. There were concerns noted by medical personnel regarding the interaction of mother and child. She appears more “nervous” than most new mothers and has on four occasions called a nurse to come get the baby during feeding. She broke down in tears each time, stating she could not attend to the child as she didn’t know what she was doing and was afraid she would “break” him. She also called once for assistance saying she didn’t “know how to make him stop crying”. The nurse reported that, upon arriving in her room, the baby was lying on the bed in front of his mother. When the nurse attempted to show Mrs. Jopper how to soothe the