JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 1980's epeidemic of "crack babies" is being replaced by something even easier to get your hands on: prescription drugs. Prescription drug abuse is the nation's fastes growing drug problem with more than seven million people abusing them -- even pregnant women.
"Molly" knows this all too well. She doesn't want us to reveal her true identity, but she wants to share her story in the hopes of helping others.
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Molly was bucked off a horse and hurt her back. It was then she was introduced to Oxycodone to help with the pain. That was the begnning of a long six-year battle with the perscription pain killer and it ended with the birth of her baby, Nikki.
""I was taking like maybe 20 a day," says Molly. She says she was desperate for the euphoric feeling of Oxycodone and she began to steal to fuel her addiction. "They take over your life. It's insane like this little pain pill will change you. It just makes you don't care about anything but yourself," says Molly.
About a year ago, she went to rehab, but she couldn't handle the pain of withdrawal and she was soon taking the pills again. Then, Molly found out she was pregnant.
Molly is among a growing number of mothers addicted to prescription pain killers like Oxycodone, Oxycontin and Vicodin. It's a trend doctors say is reminiscent of the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980's and 90's.
"Opiate addicted babies are really having a full withdrawal just like any narcotic addicted person," says Dr. Jonathan Wispe, a Neonatologist at Nationwide Children's Hosptial in Columbus, Ohio.
Known as Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, there are no national statistics to show how widespread the problem is, but states with the worst problems have begun to collect data.
"It crosses all spectrums. Stay at home moms, professionals, teachers, nurses, doctors," explains Michelle Waddell, a Neonatal Nurse and the Director of Neonatal Services of The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.
Wispe says she's seen a 700 percent increase in babies with NAS in the last five years.
"In all my years of NICU nursing, it's probably one of the most painful things that I've had to sit back and watch."
NAS babies experience withdrawal a few days after being born, just like an adult would who quits drugs cold-turkey. "They sweat all the time. Their heart is racing all the time, but first and foremost, they just seem to be miserable." explains Wispe.
The baby can also have seizures and risks sudden death. Compounding the problem, doctors says pregnant women addicted to prescription medications can't safely go off them without medical supervision or they could miscarry.
Molly got treatment two months before her daughter was born.
"I'm still a little nervous. She's 6 months old and she doesn't roll over. She doesn't laugh."
Doctors warn, it could be years, even decades before we know the long term impact for Molly's baby and thousands of other babies like her.
Doctors say the treatment for drug withdrawal in newborns can take a couple of days to a few weeks, driving up the cost of their medical care inot the tens of thousands of dollars. NAS is so new, no one knows yet what the long-term impacts of the syndrome will be.
Additional Information on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome:
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome also known as Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome: This is when a group of problems occur in a newborn that was exposed to drug abuse in the womb. (Source:nlm.nih.gov) There are two types of neonatal abstinence syndrome: neonatal abstinence syndrome due to prenatal or maternal use of substances that result in withdrawal symptoms in the newborn and postnatal neonatal abstinence syndrome secondary to discontinuation of medications such as fentanyl or morphine used for pain therapy in the newborn. Neonatal abstinence syndrome mostly occurs when the mother takes addictive illicit or prescription drugs. About three percent of the 4.1 million of women able to bear a child who abuse drugs are believed to continue drug abuse during pregnancy (Source: emedicine.medscape.com).
Examples of drugs associated with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome:
- Opiates and Narcotics: Codeine, Heroin, Oxycodone, Morphine,Buprenorphine, Fentanyl, Chlordiazepoxide, , Methadone, Meperidine (Demerol), Pentazocine, Butorphanol (Stadol), or Hydromorphone (Dilaudid).
- Other Drugs: Barbiturates, Diazepam and lorazepam, Caffeine, Cocaine, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), Antihistaminics (Diphenhydramine, Hydroxyzine), Marijuana, Ethchlorvynol, Nicotine, or Meprobamate (Source: emedicine.medscape.com).
Symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Symptoms depend on the specific drug the mother used during pregnancy, the amount of drug used, whether the baby was born premature or full-term, and how long the drug was used. Some symptoms can occur one to three days after birth or five to 10 days and they include: diarrhea, blotchy skin coloring, vomiting, seizures, excessive crying, sweating, trembling, sleep problems, sneezing (stuffy nose), irritability, or poor feeding (Source: nlm.nih.gov).
Exams and tests: It is important to get the baby tested because many other things could be the cause of such symptoms. Tests that may be done include: Neonatal abstinence syndrome scoring system, which assigns points based on each symptom and can help determine treatment, urine test (urinalysis), and toxicology screen of first bowel movements (Source: nlm.nih.gov).
Treatment: Treatment depends on the baby's overall health and symptoms. Babies are usually watched for vomiting and dehydrating and sometimes receive fluids through a vein. Some need medicine for withdrawal; Benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal and Methadone for heroin and other opiate withdrawal. Some doctors prescribe the baby whatever drug they were born addicted to and slowly wean the baby off by lowering dose. Babies who experience feeding problems need high calorie formula that provides more nutrition and smaller portions more often. Treatment relieves symptoms but how well the baby does depends partially on whether the mother continues to abuse drugs (Source: nlm.nih.gov).