Menstrual Function and Pregnancy in Narcotics Addicts treated with Methadone

Abstract

CHRONIC opiate addiction in women is generally considered to be associated with amenorrhoea, anovulation and infertility¹, but the number of observed pregnancies in drug addicts, as well as case reports of pregnancy in women with chronic addiction^2,3, casts doubt on this belief. The irregular life of these women and the clouded sensorium make it difficult to define the effects of opiates on the hormonal state. A unique opportunity to observe gynaecic function in women maintained on large doses of a narcotic drug under close medical supervision was provided by the methadone maintenance treatment programme⁴. This is a programme for the voluntary rehabilitation of the “hard core” addict. The patients are given gradually increasing doses of methadone to induce a state of tolerance and then are maintained on a constant dose of 60–120 mg/day. It is thought that such large doses induce “narcotic blockade”, so that heroin becomes neither necessary nor desirable and the addict can return to a normal, useful life⁵.