OxyContin Addictions in Babies More Prevalent than Crack
Sadly, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that in the five year period from 2003 to 2008, the number of infants born in the U.S. addicted to pain pills jumped more than 100 percent. Unfortunately, very little research has been done regarding the long-term side effects of these drugs. Many doctors will not even treat an expectant mother addicted to opiate painkillers, and a standardized method of care for these babies still does not exist.
Many of these children are born premature and are left to battle the aftereffects of addiction, including withdrawals. Withdrawal symptoms in infants manifest themselves in several ways. Some won’t eat. Others experience vomiting or diarrhea because the drugs hurt their stomachs. They have trouble sleeping, and cry incessantly. Their little bodies spasm and can undergo seizures.
Most spend several weeks in the hospital under close supervision to safely rid their bodies of the drugs. Doctors typically have to treat them with sedatives or methadone to reduce symptoms and help wean them of their addiction. This type of care is extremely expensive, but sending babies home to detox can be dangerous as new parents may not know how to cope and become more susceptible to child abuse.
In Florida, the situation is even worse. The Orlando Sentinel reported a 173 percent increase in the number of newborns treated with drug withdrawal syndrome from 2006 to 2009. Drugs from the north filter down through the state, where they are readily prescribed and dispensed. According to a grand jury report, of the country’s 50 leading suppliers of oxycodone – a painkiller said to be as addictive as heroin, all but one were located in Florida.
Data shows that those taking care of crack babies were harsher with them, mistaking their normal crying and fussiness as wayward behavior. In fact, many cases of child abuse have been overlooked, citing the children’s behavior as a result of side effects caused from early crack cocaine exposure and not abuse or neglect. The fear is that babies born with opiate addictions will face this same cycle of abuse.
Still, others say that in addition to infant opiate addiction, more focus needs to be placed on the effects that other legal drugs are having on this unborn generation. Smoking can cause premature birth and low birth weight, and the effects of alcohol can be even worse. It is estimated that that there are 40,000 cases of fetal alcohol syndrome each year, and it is even more prevalent than Down syndrome. In addition to the prescription drug epidemic, more awareness should be given to these seemingly ignored and preventable causes of harm.
