Baby Withdrawal, a Rising Problem.

Drug use is still a major problem in the United States and it's one of the Top Ten causes of death here. Now the rising problem that the counseling certification community has been seeing is baby's going through withdrawal. This isn't something that can be solved by chemical dependency counseling unless the mother comes in before she is pregnant. More on the story..

"MUNCIE, Ind. - The cry of a baby in withdrawal isn't quite the same as the whimpers mothers are accustomed to when welcoming their bundle of joy.

These are shrieks -- never ending calls for help -- as these babies withdraw from the narcotics that ran through their bloodstreams for months inside their mothers' wombs. Those yells often become seizures, tremors, sweating battles and high fevers.

These sounds aren't caused only by illegal "street drugs" used by the mother, but more often in recent years from prescription medications. And the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs by pregnant women -- whether intentional or unknowingly -- is on the rise in East Central Indiana."

 

""This is a problem that certainly isn't going away. Just last week, four of the 14 babies born in the hospital were going through drug withdrawals," said Donna Wilkins, the Delaware County Health Department medical officer and a neonatologist for Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital. "Sometimes I feel like we're never going to stop this, not without the whole community getting involved. This is a problem not only for us, but the whole country."

On April 6, Prevent Child Abuse of Delaware County -- of which Wilkins is a part -- will hold a free conference open to the public, "Mom & baby: Addiction, trauma and hope."

The group organized an initial conference in 2012 to spread awareness regarding prescription drug addiction and pregnant women specifically for the local medical community, inviting nurses, doctors, pharmacists and hospital administrators to the event.

This year, with the call for community action on the subject, everyone is invited to learn more, as well as offer suggestions to assist women with addictions and their children.

"Whether people realize it or not, this issue affects the entire community," said Pat Garofolo, president of the local PCA. "Educators are affected because we don't yet know how this will effect these children and how they'll perform in school. Employers need to understand how this affects their workers. Young people need to know how these medications can affect them when they get pregnant. This is a community issue."

It's also a growing national issue."

Source: http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/babies-born-hooked-on-moms-pres...