Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome on the Rise
A new study states that the number of babies being born addicted to drugs, particularly opioid painkillers, has increased by around 500% from 2000-2009. The study, which was conducted by scientists from the University of Michican and the University of Pittsburgh, says that the number of babies born with a condition known as neonatal abstinence syndrome is up 500% from the year 2000. The study[1] was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Needless to say, this is a troubling statistic to say the very least. The really disturbing part isn't just that there are five times as many babies entering the world as drug addicts, but also that the spike occurred in just a decade's time.
That is to say that over the span of that decade (2000-2009), the rate of babies being born with neonatal abstinence syndrome increased by 50% per year.
The scientists who released the study also put out a corresponding editorial in which they cite that treatment for such infants and their drug-addicted mothers has seen little-to-no improvement during that time period.
One blog reporting on the topic asserted that treatment is the best form of prevention when it comes to babies born addicted to drugs, and went on to suggest its own methods for helping pregnant women avoid becoming drug addicts in the first place. Thus, if the mother is not an addict, the baby shouldn't be born one either.
The suggestions included having expecting moms use a powerful topical pain reliever instead of prescription pain killers, in addition to wearing a type of pregnancy support belt designed to help relieve pain. These methods obviously wouldn't help those addicted before the start of pregnancy.
In any case, given the intensity of the pain and discomfort associated with opioid withdrawal, if that is a child's first impression of the world, we can expect a steady spike in the rate of suicides over the decades to come --- that is, unless someone figures out a way to treat or prevent this problem, or preferably both.
[1] Source: jama.ama-assn.org/content/early/2012/04/25/jama.2012.3951.full
