Mar 28, 2018 3 min read

Nearly one in 10 babies born in Pennsylvania to Greene County mothers face neonatal abstinence syndrome, according to research on hospitalizations for newborns withdrawing from drugs their mothers were using while pregnant.

Seventy-six out of 1,000 newborn stays have infants from the county who are withdrawing from addictive drugs, most commonly opioids, according to the study released today by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.

This rate is significantly higher than any other county in the state, with the second highest rate being Fayette County at 45.7. Closer to the average is Washington County, at 19.6 per 1,000 births. Rates are from the fiscal year 2016 to 2017 and based on county of residence.

In the last two decades, instances of newborns suffering from drug withdrawal have increased more than 1,000 percent, according to the study. These cases are especially expensive, researchers said, adding another $14.1 million in hospital payments in fiscal year 2017.

The study shows the rate has been on the rise between fiscal years 2000-01 and 2016-17, from 1.2 per 1,000 newborn hospitalizations to 15.0.

Most newborns exposed to addictive drugs in the womb develop neonatal abstinence syndrome after birth. The babies begin to develop symptoms of withdrawal shortly after birth because they are no longer exposed to the drug. It results in a number of problems and longer stays in the hospital postpartum.

There were 1,912 newborn hospital stays in Pennsylvania related to neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, in fiscal year 2017. Babies with NAS are far more likely to to be born premature, have a low birth weight, difficulty feeding or respiratory distress.

UPMC-Magee-Womens Hospital and other large hospitals in metropolitan areas see the bulk of these children, as smaller hospitals are ill-equipped to handle their care. Neonatal abstinence syndrome affects 7 percent of all births at Magee, which is on par with the national average. Magee started a cuddler program after seeing the instances of NAS rise and the power human touch has on the babies.

Babies with NAS need a hospital stay that lasts about five times longer than the average, resulting in 26,018 additional days in the hospital, about 5.5 percent of total hospital days for newborn stays. In almost 90 percent of these cases, Medicaid is the anticipated primary payer, compared to about 40 percent in other newborn stays.

“This brief provides more examples of the alarming impact the opioid crisis has had on Pennsylvania families and, specific to these findings, babies,” said Joe Martin, executive director of the council.

Not all infants exposed to opioids in utero experience symptoms of NAS. The brief noted though there was evidence of maternal substance abuse in a much larger number of newborn hospital stays, not every infant developed symptoms. In 3,289 of newborn stays in fiscal year 2017 involving maternal substance abuse, NAS was diagnosed in 58 percent of cases.

Rates also vary by race and income, according to the release. NAS rates were highest among white newborns, for example, and peaked for median to low income families. The study did not include Pennsylvania babies born outside the state.

Between 2000 and 2015, the rate of neonatal hospital stays in Pennsylvania related to substance abuse increased 250 percent, according to data collected by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council previously.

Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, or PHC4, is an independent state agency tasked with collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to improve the quality and restrain the cost of healthcare in Pennsylvania.