DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The Centers for Disease Control show the number of pregnant women abusing opioids grew by more than 300 percent from 1999 to 2014.
In central Illinois, hospitals and advocacy groups are working to help both mothers and babies born addicted to the drugs.
Hospitals screen expecting mothers for drugs over the course of their pregnancy. Those hospitals then make decisions to send positive tests to the appropriate agencies on a case by case basis.
But hospitals don't want the focus to be on the positive tests, but on how to help mother and child.
"We know that sometimes [positive tests] happen," said HSHS St. Mary's nurse Holly Chapman. "But we can help you get through it and we can help you take care of your baby."
Baby TALK helps expecting families and new parents navigate parenthood. When opioids get thrown into the equation, more support is needed to help the family.
"Any caring loving adult can support a child," said interim executive director Cindy Bardeleben. "When families go through stress, it's our job to try to insulate those [kids] from the stress."
It is possible for babies to be born addicted to opioids or other drugs and experience neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS is usually marked by excessive crying, fever, low birth weight and other side effects.
