West Virginia has been one of the hardest-hit states in the opioid epidemic, especially when it comes to neonatal abstinence syndrome -- a condition where addicted mothers give birth to drug-exposed babies.
"Take Care" spoke with Dr. Sean Loudin, pediatrician and neonatologist at Cabell Huntington Hospital in West Virginia and assistant professor at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, regarding his research and efforts surrounding treating this growing problem.
Loudin, who is also the medical director of Lily’s Place, the first neonatal abstinence syndrome center in the U.S., said for as long as women have misused substances, babies have been born with drug dependency. However, he said this problem has recently increased significantly in the state.
According to Loudin, recent estimates have shown that about 5.2 percent of babies born in West Virginia have neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Read more here: http://wrvo.org/post/wv-pediatrician-proposes-new-treatment-approach-decreasing-number-drug-dependent-newborns