There were 76 discharges of newborns from Irish hospitals with drug addiction withdrawal symptoms in 2017.
Between 2013 and 2017, a total of 472 discharges from Irish hospitals of newborns with drug addiction withdrawal symptoms due to their mother’s use of drugs during pregnancy were recorded.
These figures from the HSE were released to TheJournal.ie under the Freedom of Information Act.
Each discharge record represents one episode of care, and babies may have been admitted and discharged from hospitals more than once.
A breakdown of the drugs the babies were experiencing withdrawal from was not provided by the HSE.
Justin Gleeson, a Drug Liaison Midwife with the HSE Addiction Service working in Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, said that while there is a significant cohort of women presenting with primary opioid addiction, they have also seen a change with the rise of unprescribed tablet misuse.
Source: Hayley Halpin, The Journal.ie, 23/07/18
Safer Student Nights
eBulletin
Poll
