Pubdate: Sun, 27 Jul 2003
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2003 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Author: Javacia N. Harris  Associated Press

DOCTORS SEEING MORE DRUG-ADDICTED BABIES

WHITESBURG -- As a nurse in eastern Kentucky, Diane Watts is all too
familiar with the ear-piercing screams of drug addicts suffering through
withdrawal.

Comforting them through the pain and tremors has become a regular part of
her job in the obstetrics unit at Whitesburg Appalachian Regional Hospital.

The number of infants born addicted to prescription drugs like OxyContin and
methadone has sharply increased over the past year. In the newest twist to
the prescription drug epidemic in the mountain region, hospitals have found
themselves doubling as detox centers for babies hooked on powerful
narcotics.

"From May 1998 to May 2002, we delivered three babies that were born
addicted," Watts said. "But from May 2002 to May 2003, we saw 24 babies born
addicted."

The increase in addicted babies is part of the legacy of abuse by adults of
OxyContin and other prescription drugs in the mountain region. Scores have
been jailed for black-market trafficking in painkillers, and several
physicians have been indicted for overprescribing drugs.

Watts, the nurse manager of obstetrics and pediatrics at the Whitesburg
hospital, said her staff began to notice an increase in the number of babies
born addicted to narcotics in November 2002 and began testing all expectant
mothers for drugs.

Doctors at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center in Lexington
also have seen an increase in babies born addicted to opiates. Dr. Henrietta
Bada, chief of the division of neonatology, said that in 1997, the neonatal
intensive care unit saw two babies exposed to opiates. From 2001 to 2002,
that number increased to 20.

At Pikeville Methodist Hospital, the percentage of addicted babies jumped
from 3 percent of the 200 treated each year in the hospital's neonatal
intensive care to 6 percent in the past year, said Dr. Ruth Ann Shepherd, a
neonatologist.

Watts said caring for drug-addicted babies can be physically and emotionally
draining.

"You have to hold them a lot," she said. Babies experiencing drug withdrawal
are very irritable and hard to comfort. They have this high-pitched cry, and
they're very jittery."

Drug-addicted babies also have trouble sleeping, eating and even breathing,
Watts said.

"You can hear this unusual snoring sound when they breathe," she said.

Nurses working with these babies comfort the infants as much as possible and
keep them in a quiet place, Watts said.

Withdrawal symptoms can be severe, including tremors and seizures, she said.
Doctors have also seen an increased incidence of sudden infant death
syndrome in babies addicted to methadone -- which is the drug most commonly
seen at Whitesburg ARH, Watts said.

Babies suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms are placed on
Phenobarbital, Watts said. The drug can help the babies eat and sleep better
and help reduce the excessive sweating that is another withdrawal symptom.

Improvements can be seen within 24 hours of the first dose, but the recovery
process is long for infants. The babies will be given the medication for at
least a month until the symptoms subside.

Rachel Breeding, a caseworker at Whitesburg ARH who is responsible for
placing drug-addicted babies in safe homes, said drug-addicted mothers and
their babies are referred to social workers at the Kentucky Cabinet for
Families and Children to determine whether it is safe for the child to go
home.

Breeding said most infants go home with a close family member, which allows
the mother to have an active role in the child's life while she gets
treatment for her own addiction.

"If the mother is seeking help, she will get it," Breeding said.
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