Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Statistics: Number of Babies Born With NAS Doubles in the US

As defined in Medical News Today, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is present among "infants born to mothers who have used illicit drugs or prescription opioids during pregnancy, such as heroin, codeine and oxycodone."

While pregnant, women's babies infected with NAS acquire the drugs' toxins from the placenta. After these babies are born, they exhibit withdrawal symptoms from the drugs. These symptoms include diarrhea, frequent crying, fever, vomiting, and signs of irritability.

A study led by Vanderbilt University's Dr. Stephen Patrick, an author, sought to find out ways increased use of prescribed opioids is associated with the rising number of infants afflicted with NAS. Patrick's team observed infants from both kids' inpatient and nationwide Inpatient databases.

"During the 4-year period, the number of babies born with NAS almost doubled, from 3.4 births per 1,000 in 2009 to 5.8 births per 1,000 in 2012 - the equivalent to one baby born with NAS every 25 minutes," revealed the researcher and his team, as reported in Medical News Today.

Dr. Patrick advocates the need to find a treatment for NAS. The author observed that ignoring NAS remedies just makes matters worse for babies. "Too often in our health system we react to problems instead of forging public health solutions," he said. "Imagine if we were able to use the dollars spent to treat NAS on improving public health systems aimed at preventing opioid misuse and improving access to drug treatment for mothers."

The results yielded from the study was also published in The Journal of Perinatology.

Senior medical specialist, Dr. William Cooper, commented on Patrick's findings, saying, "The findings of this study demonstrate that neonatal abstinence syndrome is a growing public health problem in the United States and places a tremendous burden on babies, their families, and the communities in which they live."

Pain relievers spur the increase in opioid use, according to Dr. Veeral Tolia, a medical practitioner from Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas Texas.

Tolia revealed to Medscape Medical News, "When neonatal abstinence was first described, it was moms using heroin. In our sample, they were predominantly on opioid pain prescriptions or other medications to manage withdrawal symptoms."

NAS usage statistics were in seven out of 1000 infants for 2004 and 27 infants out of 1000 for 2013. All these cases were associated with massive opioid prescribed drugs.

Organizations such as Boston Children's Hospital's Young Parents Program (YPP) provide support for low-income parents whose babies are afflicted with NAS, according to Childrenshospital.org.