Number of Babies Born Addicted to Prescription Painkillers Skyrockets

[MindMover]

The treatment of dependent infants cost more than $720 million in 2009, with the majority of funding coming from Medicaid.

An epidemic similar to that of "crack babies" in the early 90s may be resurfacing, with the number of infants being born addicted to prescription painkillers increasing fivefold since 2000.

According to a new study released Monday, babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome—exposure to addictive drugs while in the mother's womb—are increasingly addicted to Oxycodone, Vicodin, Heroin or opiates and can suffer from seizures, breathing problems, difficulty feeding and inconsolability, according to Stephen Patrick, a neonatal-perinatal medicine fellow at the University of Michigan and lead author of the report.

[Deaths From Painkillers Triple in a Decade]

"Opiate painkillers are the new epidemic," he says. "It's becoming a problem. We need to increase attention from a public health perspective and talk about how we deal with opiates and the way they're prescribed."

The addiction is rarely if ever fatal, but treatment of the 13,000 "Oxy Babies" born addicted to painkillers in 2009 cost more than $720 million. About 80 percent of affected infants were on Medicaid, according to Patrick's report.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that the death toll from overdoses of prescription painkillers has tripled over the past several years. About 12 million Americans—about 1 in 20 teenagers and adults—use prescription painkillers in a way that's not prescribed.


http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/30/number-of-babies-born-addicted-to-prescription-painkillers-skyrockets

Poll: Is "getting high/low" hardwired into humanity...?

1 vote, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Yes, because drugs work on what we want them to work on....
	1 (100%)
	No, we all have a choice and this nonsense about having a fourth drive is just that, nonsense....
	0 (0%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll