Newborn Baby Drug Addicts Growing in Florida? Babies Hooked On Painkillers

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Newborn babies suffering from addiction to painkillers have reached a record high in Lee County, Florida. According to Post Pioneer, there was a year-long public education campaign to spread awareness about the cases, but is seems it had no effect at all in the community.  

USA Today reports that the number of addicted babies have grown 1,325% since 2005, when only eight "drug-dependent" babies were born. 

"We knew that it wasn't getting less. But the numbers show us, quantitatively, that we're really seeing additional," explains Dr. William Liu, the healthcare director of the neonatal intensive care unit at the Lee Memorial Children's Hospital, on growing number of drug-dependent babies. 

Babies who are born with addictive tendencies are diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), reports USA Today. Babies with NAS have the following symptoms, "nausea; uncontrolled twitching, seizures; excessive and particularly high-pitched crying; problems feeding; an inability to sleep; and fever." 

NAS newborns experience withdrawals after birth, which are treated by administering morphine and the sedative Phenobarbital, reports Post Pioneer. A baby born with NAS will have to spend some time in the hospital after birth, so that nurses can wean the child off its addiction.  

According to USA Today, a NAS baby's extended stay at the hospital can cost "tens of thousands of dollars." The bill is usually paid by taxpayer-supported Medicaid. Fortunately, Lee County Hospitals have found a way to lessen the stay of the babies due to gained experience.  

Currently it is uncertain why there has been an increase of NAS newborns. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have looked into the NAS problem in Florida, states USA Today. 

As part of the study, the CDC observed three hospitals which had high rates of delivering NAS babies. Overall, there were 242 NAS babies reviewed.  

The study revealed that 97% of NAS babies were born from mothers who used opiate or opiate-mimicking drugs, reports Post Pioneer. Dr. Jennifer Lind, the lead author of the report for the CDC study, shared some of the findings from the research. 

According to Dr. Lind, "10% of the females had been referred to drug counselling, even though 90% had been drug screened at the hospital." She goes on to say, "We feel this report shows NAS as the critical public overall health problem it is." 

To learn more about NAS babies, watch the video below.