The number of babies born with drug withdrawal symptoms in Maryland hit 1,419 cases in 2015, marking a 56.6 percent increase in the last nine years, according to The Baltimore Sun.
While some infants have been exposed to drugs like cocaine and marijuana, the primary cause for the increase is the surging rates of heroin and prescription painkiller abuse currently racking communities across the state.
"This is not a syndrome that we used to see a lot of, so we are learning quickly," said Jim Rost, MD, a newborn intensive care specialist at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, according to the Sun. Dr. Rost serves on a Maryland Patient Safety Center committee working with 30 birthing center's across the state to address the issue.
"People don't show up with a sign on their head saying 'opioid user,'" said Dr. Rost. "It is about screening the mother appropriately so we can help them and we can help their babies sooner."
When these Maryland babies are born with opioids in their system, they are assessed and assigned a score based upon the severity of their withdrawal symptoms. The score determines the course of treatment. While some babies can be treated with soothing strategies like "cuddle programs" — where volunteers hold and soothe the babies — or massage and music therapy, approximately 60 to 80 percent of infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome require treatment with morphine or methadone to relieve seizures, weight loss and other symptoms related to detox.
Physicians said more studies are needed to determine the best way to treat babies exposed to opioids in utero. The current scores used to assess symptoms among these infants are subjective and the long-term effects of neonatal abstinence syndrome are not known, according to the Sun.
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