In part one of this series we introduced the subject of Michigan’s alarming rise in babies born with drug addictions, and looked at what symptoms those newborns face while they endure withdrawal after birth. Moving on, we are going to look at what doctors are doing to address the issue, and why CPS intervention isn’t always the answer.

In the previous article we noted that mothers struggling with substance abuse were not encouraged to simply quit doing drugs, and you may have wondered why. After all, if the risk to the baby is as bad as doctors have said it is, then why wouldn’t the first order of the day be to get those dangerous drugs out of as many mothers as we can?

Well, as it turns out, withdrawal is dangerous for a baby in utero. For this reason, medical professionals prefer to use substances to help fight the cravings and reduce the chances of substance abuse. Buprenorphine, which is marketed as Suboxone, Zubsolv or Bunavail, or Methadone, are the preferred substitutes of choice.

This is because they are far less dangerous for the babies, and helps the mothers to manage their cravings for heroin and other opioids during their pregnancies. Thankfully for those mothers, these drugs are covered by medicaid, which is important as many of these mothers struggling with substance abuse are not wealthy, and can’t afford pricey drug-substitutes.

But coverage only lasts for one year, which is a real problem for many of these women. Having a one-year old baby and discovering that suddenly the medication you’re rely on to help you from getting sick while withdrawing is no longer available, makes returning to substance abuse a very likely outcome for many.

In Michigan, in the year 2000, there were 56 babies born with opioid addiction. By 2010, that number had raised to 416. And by 2014, it was up to 815. These tragic statistics, provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, reveal just how widespread this problem has become, and why it’s so important that we find a solution that will work to solve it.

One of those solutions, according to David Sciamanna, a neonatologist at Munson Medical Center, is to allow women to have access to the medication they need for as long as they need it. He believes that substance abuse should be treated like any other disease, pointing out that patients with high blood pressure, heart disease and liver failure don’t lose their meds after only one year.

Other proposed solutions include televised public service announcements, providing information about the services available to pregnant women with substance abuse issues, and pamphlets in doctor’s waiting rooms that talk about the consequences. Another suggestion was that women who seek help for their addiction during pregnancy shouldn’t lose their children to the state as a result. After all, seeking help is the best possible next step in solving the problem, and punishing someone for seeking help is counter-productive.

Lastly, not making mandatory removal of the baby from the mother’s custody the automatic next step in CPS intervention. While many of these mothers are struggling with substance abuse and desperately need help, being a good mother may be the only incentive to stay clean, and taking away their baby strips them of the only motivation they have to stay off drugs.

We don’t have the answers to this problem, but we are aware of the fact that it is a growing issue. One of the best ways to help solve problems is to raise awareness that the problem exists, which we hope that this two part article has done.