A Pennsylvania mother who reportedly failed a drug test while giving birth to her first child after eating poppy seeds said medical officials breached patient-doctor confidentiality, according to a report by the Associated Press.
31-year-old Rachael Devore is suing the Magee-Women's Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, after she said hospital officials committed defamation by providing a child welfare organization with the results of her drug test.
Devore went into labor on Jun 24, AP reported. According to the lawsuit, medical staff performed a pee test while she was giving birth to her child, then handed the results to social workers.
"I just delivered and it's supposed to be this beautiful, wonderful, happy time and I'm being accused of something that's completely ridiculous," Devore told AP reporters. "To be accused of physically and purposely harming your child is a very tough accusation to swallow."
Poppies can sometimes throw off drug test results due to its opiate origins. Drugs like heroin are derived from poppies, AP reported.
Devore said she didn't know why the test results came back positive for drugs until a few weeks later, when she noticed poppy seeds in the bread she'd eaten before going into labor.
According to Devore's legal representative Margaret Coleman, there was no need to perform the drug tests - she called her client a "model" patient.
The lawsuit alleges the urine sample returned labeled as an "unconfirmed positive," with the disclaimer that, "These results are to be used only for medical purposes. Unconfirmed screening results must not be used for non-medical purposes (e.g. employment testing, legal testing)."
But Devore said that's what hospital officials did - the suit states the hospital gave the case to Allegheny County's Office of Children, Youth and Families.
Hours after her daughter was born, Devore said a nurse performed a urine sample on the newborn while watching her for signs of withdrawal. A social worker came to Devore's hospital bed the next day "and demanded information about her alleged drug use," while she breastfed.
