In addition to the many other things that Michigan has seen an increase of in recent years, such as meth dump sites and overall child poverty, there is the issue of babies born addicted to drugs. Michigan has seen a surge in newborns struggling with opioid withdrawal.

This is a terrible way to start life. According to David Sciamanna, a neonatologist at Munson Medical Center, babies experiencing withdrawal from drugs experience a wide rage of symptoms, and none of them are pleasant. They are apparently more jittery than other babies, they sweat heavily, suffer from loose stools, and struggle to eat.

All of these symptoms cause them to struggle with dehydration and difficulty gaining the weight necessary for healthy growth after birth. They also cry more, with very high pitched wails, struggle to be soothed, and have a hard time sleeping. In addition, they tend to have seizures, which, if left untreated, can kill them. All in all, it’s a difficult time.

Doctors treat the babies with methadone to ease their symptoms, and provide fluids and nutrients via IV to avoid dehydration. While that solves the immediate issues those babies are struggling with, the question of what can be done on a larger scale, is still a big one.

Due to the fact that hospitals test the blood of all newborns, any baby born with even a trace of illegal substances in their blood is likely going to result in CPS involvement in their case, and removal from their parent’s custody. For many women, struggling with addiction is hard, but losing your baby is even harder, and it often takes away from them the one thing that may have helped provide an incentive to get clean.

So what can be done? According to Dr Sciamanna, the approach is slowly changing, and that is a good thing. More and more doctors are working to identify the mothers who struggle with substance abuse early in the pregnancy, and get them the help they need as soon as possible. Specifically, one of those things that they need is good prenatal care.

Sciamanna says that not getting quality prenatal care, especially for mothers who are struggling with substance abuse, can result in babies with low birth weight and medical problems. This results in additional complications in addition to the many struggles they will face when they are born. But why not just force them to give up the drugs, you may wonder?
Actually, there is a good reason for why doctors don’t go that route, but we will be talking about it in part two of this article. So join us next time, and we will wrap up this two part series on substance abuse during pregnancy, and what can be done about it.