Health

How hospitals are fighting neonatal abstinence syndrome \\ By Livia Gershon CRISIS IN THE MATERNITY WARD B y now, everyone in Central Massachusetts probably knows something about the crisis in opioid abuse that's hit the area and beyond in recent years. Directly or indirectly, the sharp rise in use of prescription painkillers and related street drugs like heroin has affect- ed enormous numbers of people of all ages. And, sadly, that doesn't exclude the very youngest. Hospitals, doctors, and recovery programs around the region are now imple- menting programs to address an alarming increase in the number of infants born with opioid addiction. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in Massachusetts rose from 2.2 per 1,000 births in 1999 to 12.5 in 2012. That's even higher than nationwide increases of over 300 percent over a similar time- frame. Local babies face higher risk At UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, a birthing hospital equipped to handle risky childbirth situations that other area medi- cal centers can't, the problem has been particularly visible. Dr. Lawrence M. Rhein, the hospital's chief of neonatology, said nearly 18 out of 1,000 babies born at the hospital in 2014 were diagnosed with NAS, five times the national rate. In some cases, babies are born with NAS because their mothers use prescription opioids for pain, or are addicted to the drugs. If a woman with an opioid addiction becomes pregnant, the CDC recommends that she use a methadone maintenance program Volunteers at local hospitals like UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester provide close contact for newborns addicted to opiates when parents aren't available. UMass Memorial volunteer Betty Maciulewicz is shown here. 16 HEALTH • Fall 2016

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