A U.S. Senate committee on March 16, 2016 cleared a bill aimed at improving the health and safety of babies born to mothers who used heroin or other opioids during pregnancy. Claiming that the bill was prompted by its investigation in 2015, a Reuters report said it will now move to the Senate floor.
The news agency had "found 110 cases of children who were exposed to opioids while in the womb and who later died preventable deaths at home" last year. "No more than nine states comply with a 2003 law that calls on hospitals to alert social workers whenever a baby is born dependent on drugs, Reuters found," the agency reported.
America’s NAS concern
The problem of opioid addiction in the United States, especially among women of childbearing age, has become a big concern today. It leads to drug withdrawal symptoms in newborns, known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS refers to a group of symptoms experienced by a baby when the mother takes opiate or narcotic drugs such as heroin, codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin) methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy.
These addictive drugs find their way through the placenta, which connects the baby to the mother’s womb, making the baby addicted along with the mother. As the baby is dependent on the drug when still in the mother’s womb, but no longer gets the drug after birth, he or she may experience withdrawal symptoms.
Blame it on rise in number of opioid prescriptions
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) director Dr. Nora Volkow said in an article published in the British Medical Journal in January 2016 that an increase in the number of opioid prescriptions to pregnant women has resulted in a steep rise in NAS cases among newborn babies.
Scientists, at times, may not be aware of the long-term effects of opioid abuse on the newborns, but a few addictive mothers do notice cognitive impairments in their children. Children afflicted with NAS may show symptoms like irritability, seizures, shaking, trouble in eating and sleeping.
“Opioids should be reserved for pregnant women with severe pain that cannot be controlled through more benign means, and ideally limited to a short-term use,” said Dr. Volkow.
“The rise in NAS is also likely to be a consequence of increased opioid prescriptions — estimates indicate that 14 to 22 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. receive an opioid prescription during their pregnancy — as well as an increase in the prevalence of opioid use disorders among pregnant women,” she added.
In the article, Dr. Volkow cited Dr. Stephen Patrick, a neonatologist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and one of the researchers for the studies on neonatal abstinence syndrome, who said that by 2012 a baby was born addicted to drugs every 30 minutes.
Patrick said, “When I talk to families, some of the stories that I hear are things like an adolescent may have started using it at a party, or (taken it) from a medicine cabinet in someone’s home, or they had an accident and were prescribed opioids and became dependent.”
Law for babies’ protection
To curb the devastating epidemic, the Obama administration ensured the passage of the Protecting Our Infants Act in 2015. It will provide more funds for researches on maternal drug addiction and long-term effects of drug exposure to children.
Not only federal government, even state governments are trying their best to tackle substance abuse problem. In December 2015, California announced to revamp its substance abuse treatment system for the low-income people. The government will change the drug and alcohol treatment plan for beneficiaries of Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California.
The state plans to reduce social and financial costs of people with substance abuse disorders and expand treatment services, including inpatient care, case management and recovery services.
Making help available
To treat NAS, the infant is administered a painkiller such as morphine, the dose of which is slowly tapered off. The widespread use of state-run drug monitoring programs offers useful information to healthcare providers that may improve patient safety. These also enable expectant mothers to receive safe and effective pain treatments.
If you or your loved one is trying to overcome prescription drug abuse, get in touch with the California prescription drug abuse helpline at 855-738-2770. Our representatives can help you access the best prescription drug addiction treatment centers in California.
