Number of Lee County drug addicted babies rises

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – The number of babies born hooked on painkillers in Lee County hospitals reached an all time high last year.

According to our partners at The News-Press, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, N.A.S, jumped nearly 24 percent from 2013 to 2014. It affected 114 babies. Experts can’t pinpoint why some area are affected more than others.

State records show the rate was nearly 18 per 1,000 babies born last year. That is more than twice the reported state average. The News-Press says, a report from the Florida Surgeon General John Armstrong showed 6.9 per 1,000 births statewide had signs of N.A.S.

Experts say common symptoms of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome include nausea; uncontrolled twitching; seizures; excessive and particularly high-pitched crying; problems feeding; an inability to sleep and fever. They say, long-term effects of N.A.S are not clearly understood.

The needed extra hospitalization can add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of care, often taxpayers are footing that bill. WINK News is learning the length of those hospital stays here in Southwest Florida are getting shorter. Babies who experience Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, average about a month in the hospital. Now, most babies leave after 20-days.

For the full story at The News-Press click here.