Number of Babies Born Addicted to Prescription Painkillers Skyrockets

[MindMover]

The treatment of dependent infants cost more than $720 million in 2009, with the majority of funding coming from Medicaid.

An epidemic similar to that of "crack babies" in the early 90s may be resurfacing, with the number of infants being born addicted to prescription painkillers increasing fivefold since 2000.

According to a new study released Monday, babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome—exposure to addictive drugs while in the mother's womb—are increasingly addicted to Oxycodone, Vicodin, Heroin or opiates and can suffer from seizures, breathing problems, difficulty feeding and inconsolability, according to Stephen Patrick, a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellow at the University of Michigan and lead author of the report.

[Deaths From Painkillers Triple in a Decade]

"Opiate painkillers are the new epidemic," he says. "It's becoming a problem. We need to increase attention from a public health perspective and talk about how we deal with opiates and the way they're prescribed."

The addiction is rarely if ever fatal, but treatment of the 13,000 "Oxy Babies" born addicted to painkillers in 2009 cost more than $720 million. About 80 percent of affected infants were on Medicaid, according to Patrick's report.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has tripled over the past several years. About 12 million Americans—about 1 in 20 teenagers and adults—use prescription painkillers in a way that's not prescribed.


http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/30/number-of-babies-born-addicted-to-prescription-painkillers-skyrockets

Poll: Is "getting high/low" hardwired into humanity...?

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	Yes, because drugs work on what we want them to work on....
	1 (100%)
	No, we all have a choice and this nonsense about having a fourth drive is just that, nonsense....
	0 (0%)
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[tavalon]

1. I work with "high end" folks

who get IVF, carry twins and at 45 years of age, they have the aches and pains of pregnancy, but not the resiliency to tolerate them. So we're getting a lot of vicodin babies. I wonder sometimes if these doctors have a clue what they're doing giving a mom in her last trimester opiates for back pain.

5 years ago, we never saw withdrawing babies, now we're all quite versed with the NAS score and it seems some weeks I'm passing out morphine to babies like it's candy.

[MindMover]

2. As you well know, the answer is not always medication...

but it is faster and easier than explaining that pain is part of the process....and that is what you chose...

I have been in the substance abuse field for most of the time I have been practicing and find the level of ignorance among professionals about narcotics to be phenomenal.

I just have to keep telling myself that compassion does not always mean giving in to every patient wish....and that pain is sometimes a part of living and healing.

[tavalon]

3. Thanks, I agree

I hate seeing the babies get screwed over by those pills.

[Ilsa]

4. I am very concerned that a pregnant

family member is using. Her fetus is less than half the size it should be and has a cardiac problem. She's due in 9 weeks. Her grandmother is enabling her because she's afraid she'll end up in jail and her toddler won't have his mom.

Do users that give birth to addicted babies get charged with anything?

[MindMover]

5. Depends on a lot of factors, but do not look at the Dr.

to report....so generally the answer is no...

[Ilsa]

6. I've called family protective services,

but it was because she was stealing from her grandmother. I told them that we think drugs are involved, but we had no proof.

I'm wondering if the baby will at least be "diagnosed" as going through withdrawal if the signs are there. I hope the nurses will report their suspicions.

I wish she would ask to go to rehab instead of potentially a judge telling her she must.

[MindMover]

7. Yes the baby will be diagnosed if withdrawal signs are there...

My mate, an RN has worked in birthing at the hospital and has reported several babies with symptoms related to drug use.

Anyway that she goes to rehab is better than not going to rehab....

[Taverner]

8. Absolutely. Ever since we crawled out of the slime, we've been using psychoactives

Even other animals do it.

Birds, for example, love a certain kind of berry that makes them "drunk." If humans eat the same berry, we die.