Women who are drug addicts and become mothers sit at the intersection of four sets of norms: legal norms since drug use is illegal; social norms defining what a good mother is; medical norms governing how high-risk pregnancies should be managed; and gender norms, since drug addiction is perceived as essentially a male phenomenon. This conflict in norms involves various sanctions: penal sanctions due to illegal use, medical sanctions like compulsory care, and, for some women, a combination and their exclusion from the child’s life, who may be placed in foster care. A local study in France was conducted during which interviews were held with over 40 professionals in the medical, social service, legal, and child welfare sectors. This study focused on the practices these professionals used when dealing with women addicted to drugs. This paper also presents biographical accounts of a dozen mothers who at some point in their lives lost custody of their child, and the results of informal interviews with 20 women in treatment centers.