Lies and Lullabies is a Rod Hardy-directed 1993 ABC television movie about a pregnant cocaine addict, played by Susan Dey. The film was released on DVD as Sad Inheritance in 2005 and is also sometimes known as Love, Lies and Lullabies.
Plot
Christina is the adult daughter of an alcoholic. A habitual cocaine user, she continues to abuse the drug after she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. When the baby is born addicted, she is kept away from Christina based on the recommendation of a social worker, who deems her an unfit mother. Christina, distraught, battles to end her addiction and regain custody of her baby.
History
The script for Lies and Lullabies initially cast Dey as the sister of a closet-cocaine addict who dies during childbirth. Dey's character was then charged with raising the baby, ignorant to the developmental delays that would follow. However, after visiting a treatment facility and meeting mothers who were in the process of seeking treatment to regain custody of their children, Dey (who also acted as the producer of the film), asked that the script be rewritten. Speaking to The Post and Courier, she stated that early in the production, "we all had very little compassion for these women," but that after meeting them they learned "the reality is that these women can be helped and if given a chance for treatment and a choice between drugs and their children, many choose their children."