Eating a Costco salad almost ruined my life – I had no idea

A pregnant mother grabbed a healthy lunch on her way to hospital – and her newborn was taken away as a result.

The dystopian saga unfolded after Susan Horton, a stay-at-home mom from Northern California, munched on a few bites of pre-made salad from Costco as she prepared to give birth to her fifth child in August 2022.

She then went into labor, soon welcoming her daughter, Halle into the world.

Horton believed everything had gone well. However, the following morning, she received shocking news from a nurse in the maternity ward – she had tested positive for opiates.

Avoiding any narcotic pain relief during labor, the exhausted mom was completely confused, she told Mother Jones.

“You sure it was mine?” she asked the nurse, insisting that she had never taken an illegal drug in her life.

At first, Horton speculated that her urine sample might have been mixed with someone else’s.

Then she remembered that her last meal contained poppy seeds – known to naturally contain traces of opiate residue, even after they are processed.

Positive results after consuming kitchen equipment are common enough that the US Department of Defense has warned soldiers not to eat poppy seeds – noting that they can affect test results.

Urine drug screens have also been found to be easily misinterpreted, with false positive rates as high as 50 percent, according to multiple studies.

But employees at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Santa Rosa, Calif., were determined to escalate the situation, the newspaper reported.

Nurses reported the finding to child welfare, and a social worker soon arrived to take the girl into protective custody.

“They had a single piece of evidence that I had taken something,” Horton admitted mortified. “And it was a mistake.â€

“Mom and Dad insisted a Costco salad with poppy seed dressing was responsible,” a doctor wrote in her notes. Another doctor wrote: “We are unable to verify whether this could result in a positive test.”

After the second test came back positive for this opiate, the situation escalated.

California law, unlike many other states, requires more than just a positive drug test to formally charge a parent with child abuse.

Unfortunately, Horton had missed several prenatal appointments — due to concerns about COVID-19 as well as a medical situation with one of her other children, the concerned parent explained.

Because missed checkups are considered by providers to be a red flag for drug abuse, a hospital social worker decided to move forward with her case.

“I just always have that distinct feeling that at any moment Child Protective Services could come knocking and take my kids away.”

Susan Horton

Horton and her husband pleaded with doctors and insisted that keeping her baby in the hospital was unnecessary.

“I’m not a drug addict,” she pleaded. Her husband called the police in an attempt to stop the hospital, records reviewed by Mother Jones show.

However, things went further when the furious parents refused to allow investigators to inspect their home or interview their family and friends.

So toddler Halle’s caseworker secured a court order and placed the precious package with her grandparents — expressly barring the parents from spending time alone with their young daughter.

Horton arrived in court a few days later when the caseworker claimed that Horton’s alleged drug use posed a danger to her child.

In an attempt to regain custody, Horton agreed to another drug test, which was monitored by a caseworker, and to finally have her home searched.

After nearly two weeks, the child welfare agency, apparently now satisfied, decided to withdraw her request. A judge dismissed the case and the family was reunited.

Kaiser Permanente, the state’s largest private employer, told The Post that they “strive to create an open dialogue with our patients to partner with them in their care” and “remain committed to supporting the health and well-being of every mother and newborn,” including taking their role as mandated journalists “very seriously.”

“I had a lot of confidence in the way I was a mother and a parent,” Horton told Mother Jones. “Now in my head, I’m always questioning my choices.”

“I just always have that fuzzy feeling at every moment [Child Protective Services] could come knocking and take my children.â€

Unsurprisingly, Horton isn’t the first mom to take her kids out on the issue.

Advocates, including the ACLU, have been investigating the problem for years, calling for better protections for mothers and their children.

“People should be concerned,” Dr. Stephen Patrick, a leading neonatal researcher who directs the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta.

“It can happen to any of us.”