Health security

500% growth in infants in rural areas showing up addicted to heroin, opioids

A new study found heroin and opioid-related problems are showing a 500 percent increase among pregnant women and infants in rural areas in less than a decade. Among the problem are babies are being born with painful withdrawal symptoms.

“When they are born, because they’re no longer being exposed to an opiate, they’re going to go through withdrawal. That is what we deal with. We deal with babies going through withdrawal,” Dr. Sean Loudin, the medical director of a neonatal therapeutic unit at Cabell Huntington Hospital told KTLA.