Prescription drug abuse by pregnant women rises sharply
(NEWSER) - The number of pregnant women abusing prescription drugs has soared, and babies addicted to opiates are now being born at the rate of one every hour in the US, a new study warns. Researchers found that the newborn addiction rate has tripled over the last decade, and the newborns spent an average of 16 days in the hospital being treated for opiate withdrawal, reports the New York Times . "The incidence has gone crazy, and I think it has the potential to become a national or international issue,” a clinical neuroscientist writes in an editorial accompanying the study. “People who previously might not have used heroin or the needle are more likely to use prescription opiates.” More»
