America Faces a Dramatic Increase in Babies Born into Addiction

The effects of addiction reach far beyond individual users. Emotional and financial ramifications can impact the lives of friends and family everywhere. And when users are pregnant, the effects of addiction are immediate. Babies absorb essential nutrients while in the womb, and when mothers are using drugs, babies absorb that as well. This is why drug rehab is so important for so many. To avoid the spread of addiction.

In Michigan alone, the number of babies born into addiction has increased by 500 percent in the last five years. For most mothers using drugs while pregnant, the problem begins with prescription medication.

As reported by ABC’s WZZM 13, “It starts with one pill that turns into thousands until the prescriptions run out. Then, the new drug of choice often becomes heroin.” Drug rehab facilities often see women facing this kind of difficulty. One addiction leads to another, until problems become unmanageable.

Medical centers and drug rehab facilities in North Carolina have seen a similar dramatic increase in mothers facing heroin addiction. NBC’s WCNC reported a near 700 percent increase in babies born into addiction in the last five years. Part of the problem is that “Heroin right now is dirt cheap,” according to WCNC, “somewhere around $9 a dose.”

When prescriptions expire and that high is no longer available, or affordable, addicts turn to the streets for a solution. This trend is clearly growing, and appears to be widespread across the country. This week, Dagger Press reported a 142 percent increase in babies born to addiction in Harfod County alone.

The effects on newborn babies exposed to drug use is unsettling to say the least. Often, because of the intense specialized care needed, babies are born directly into rehab centers.

“Once that cord is clamped when it’s born, the source of the drug stops,” stated WZZM. “In other words, they go cold turkey. The medical term is neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS.”

Adults who have experienced detox know how painful this experience can be. Although babies can’t voice what is happening to them during this process, they are often fussy and inconsolable. One doctor who spoke with WZZM stated, “They have a lot of tremors in their arms and legs, so they can’t get their hands up to their mouth to self-sooth like other babies.”

Fortunately, most children born into addiction do not face serious long-term health problems, but the chances of brain damage and other difficulties still remains. As mothers continue to use heroin, they will continue to endanger the lives of their children.

Emily Culp is a health writer for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. Information provided by Odyssey House. Follow on Twitter