Heroin’s Tiniest Victims
The heroin epidemic sweeping America isn’t news any more. Every home town newspaper has reported the number of overdose deaths. The Governors of all the hardest-hit states have all taken to the airwaves to announce programs to fight back. With no effective, broad solution in place, the numbers of heroin users, overdoses and other disastrous effects continue to rise. Perhaps the most tragic victim of this epidemic is the tiniest one—the babies born already addicted to heroin and other opioids.
When a woman uses heroin or an opioid (synthetic opiate) like hydrocodone or oxycodone, the drug passes through the placenta and affects the baby just the same as it affects her. Even if a woman is aware of this fact, she is in a very bad situation. If she stops using heroin, she could miscarry her child while she’s going through withdrawal. On the other hand, a severely addicted woman is so overwhelmed by cravings that even knowing she’s probably harming her baby is not enough to make her stop.
The net result is that an increasing number of babies are being born addicted to heroin or other opioids. Their first weeks on earth are filled with pain and sickness, just like any person going through withdrawal. Newborns must be gradually weaned off opiates with tiny doses of methadone or morphine but still suffer from inconsolable crying, tremors, muscle cramps, diarrhea and other ills.
Recent Announcement of Huge Jump in Heroin Abuse
The National Institutes of Health recently reported on a massive one-year jump in the number of people using heroin. Between 2013 and 2014, the estimated number of users rose from 681,000 to 914,000. Roughly 40% of those admitted to treatment for heroin addiction were female. In Alaska, North Dakota and West Virginia, more women than men were admitted and in a handful of other states, the numbers were nearly tied.
A news report from just one state—Maine—noted that more than 1,000 addicted babies had been born in 2015. Heroin-addicted babies are also at greater risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and certain birth defects. Even if a child makes it through withdrawal and goes home, he (or she) is at risk for other harm at the hands of an addicted parent. News service Reuters compiled reports of 110 cases of these preventable infant deaths.
Perhaps the Most Vital Reason to Find Rehab
It could be argued that the health and life of a newborn baby could be the most compelling reason for any woman who could become pregnant to find rehab at the first moment possible. It’s obvious that there’s so much more at stake than just the health of the mother.
Families are so often very confused about the best way to help an addicted woman. Since drug-abusing women are so often living a risky lifestyle on many levels, it’s not surprising that a heroin-addicted woman could become pregnant at any time.
The right thing for a family to do is to find effective rehab for any woman using addictive substances—heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine or any drug. If the individual is not ready to enter a rehab, that’s when a well-done intervention can turn the tide. Narconon Ojai can help explain how an effective rehabilitation program works and can refer you to an interventionist who can get the job done. With the urgency of this situation, there is not a moment to waste with the addiction of any woman of child-bearing years. Call Narconon Ojai at 1-866-292-4503 to start her recovery immediately.
http://www.businessinsider.com/drug-dependent-newborns-2015-12
