Pregnancy and Motherhood as the Initial Motivator

Many mothers cited pregnancy or motherhood as an impetus to stop using. Recovery was something they related they had been unable to do for themselves, but for the child, they experienced a new drive.

"Suddenly, like, there was a whole baby. It was very intense. It was a little bit dramatic, just to be, like, the shock of seeing me immediately pregnant. The experience, like, well it was scary. It completely changed my life. It didn't make me not a heroin addict. But it just changed everything that I felt about the world. Because now I went from just being a heroin addict on the streets, to now, I'm, I’m somebody's mother. It changed everything for me."

-R

Mothers related understanding how their use disorder would negatively impact their parenting.

Some mothers, propelled to recovery by their pregnancy, experienced setbacks. They then utilized their motherhood to regain their footing in recovery.