Fetal Drug Addiction

Knoxville hospital uses new way to treat babies born drug addicted: "Doctors at East Tennessee Children's Hospital say so many babies are being born addicted that the problem is considered an epidemic. Now the hospital has come up with a new way to treat these babies."


As a part of my dream job to work in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit); they have to treat infants born with drug addictions inherited from the mother. These mothers have a specific addiction to a substance which in terms affect the baby as well. We have all heard of fetal alcohol syndrome and other birth defects that such as mental retardation and learning disabilities (ADHD,ADD,Dyslexia,etc.) but in actuality that is not the only fear mothers should have. Babies, who are hooked on drugs go through withdrawal just as any other addict and without treat it could be fatal. There once was a time where physician gave the baby a small doses of the drug to relieve the pain of a difficult process. The infants have to withstand hardships such as eating difficulties, visual difficulties, low birth weight, shorter height, missing fingers/toes, bone/skeletal defect, tremors, seizures, sleep abnormalities, and among many other things, difficulty consoling or comforting. They scream as if someone is killing them as little by little doctors try to whine the baby off the drug. As time progresses on, medical science has proved other ways to treat these babies; the video will input on the new research taking place today (click on the link above).