Drug Addicted Newborns on Rise

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- New State reports indicated an alarming rise in drug addicted newborns.

The report shows an increase of more than eight times the amount of drug addicted newborns from 2005 to 2015. The CEO of Muskingum Behavioral Health, Steve Carrel, explains the harsh reality of withdrawal for a newborn.

“These babies sound like they are in pain, they don’t like to be touched, don’t like a lot of stimulation in their world during the withdrawal. At some point they do need to be cuddled, need to be held, sometimes the moms are there, sometimes the moms aren’t.”

Carrel noted drug addicted newborns often face challenges at an early age in school.

“A lot of times with these babies once they are through withdrawal, they look like a normal baby, they have ten fingers, ten toes. They sit there, cue and cuddle with you. They are this big bundle of joy but then at preschool age you might start seeing delays or kindergarten you start to see delays.”

The Ohio Department of Health reported more than 130 million dollars was spent in 2015 on treatment for drug addicted newborns.