Cyndy - this is not the hard data you need to present to fellow staff but I
just wanted to share a story.  I had a teen mom in my childbirth classes.
After her baby's birth, I took a pump to her house so she could return to
school.  I had heard she had a positive screen for marijuana while at the
hospital.  I asked her about it and she told me how she had really listened
during cb class about pain medication options during labor and didn't want
her baby exposed to narcotics, so she got high as her way of dealing with
labor.  Hmmm.  Needless to say we talked about the implications in her
decision and the result that social services may become involved in her
life and what she was risking by getting high as a mom and as a
breastfeeding mom.
Patients have rights and should be informed from the beginning if drug
screens are being conducted, I feel.  My husband is in law enforcement with
the National Park Service and I know he can't just perform secret drug
tests on hear say!

Teri Shilling, MS, LCCE, CD, IBCLC