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Rate Of Ohio Babies Born Addicted To Drugs Increasing

WCBE 90.5FM | By Ohio Public Radio

Published March 28, 2017 at 5:29 AM EDT

State records show the rate of drug-addicted newborns last year was more than eight times higher than in 2005. Officials blame Ohio's opioid epidemic. Ohio Public Radio's Andy Chow reports.

Babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, experience a number of symptoms from low birth weight to seizures.

In 2006 there were 20 babies born with NAS for every 10,000 live births. In 2015, that number skyrocketed to 155 babies per 10,000 live births.

Rick Massatti of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services says this growth mirrors the other alarming increases in opioid abuse.

Massatti: “We don’t want to accept this as the new normal, we don’t want to accept this as the status quo.”

Massatti points to the Maternal Opiate Medical Support, or MOMS, program that help expecting mothers who are addicted. The state has requested for federal funding for this program.

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