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Sunday, August 12th, 2018

US opioids: number of addicted women giving birth quadrupled over 15 years

Author:     Jessica Glenza
Source:     Guardian (U.K.)
Publication Date:     Thu 9 Aug 2018 13.00 EDT
Link: US opioids: number of addicted women giving birth quadrupled over 15 years
Stephan:   The horror of this opioid addiction seems never to end, and it touches even the youngest and most innocent of us. What makes it so particularly vile is that everyone knew what was going on and it was all legal. This was a manufactured drug crisis done with deliberation and guile in order for everyone but the users to make a profit. It is an absolutely disgusting story of America's illness profit system. I was so appalled at what happened that I spent a month researching it and wrote it up: America’s Deadly Opioid Epidemic From Which Everyone But the Users Profits

On average, infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome stay in the hospital for 17 days.
Credit: Alamy Stock

The number of US women who gave birth addicted to opioids has quadrupled in the last 15 years, increasing the number of infants who face a long, painful withdrawal at birth, according to new government data.

However, as with many health problems in America, there is vast regional variation. While the rate of women who gave birth addicted to opioids in Hawaii matched the national average, the rate increased 53-fold in West Virginia.

“These findings illustrate the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on families across the US, including on the very youngest,” said Dr Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Untreated opioid use disorder during pregnancy can lead to heartbreaking results. Each case represents a mother, a child and a family in need of continued treatment and support.”

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