As a pediatrician, Dr. Marie Hay has dedicated her working life to improving the well-being of infants.
It must be a frustrating and heartbreaking job at times.
Hay has been working at Prince George Regional Hospital for many years so she is in a position to recognize trends among her delicate patients.
She has seen a staggering tenfold increase in the number of drug-addicted babies born at PGRH in the past decade. Hay says fully five per cent of the babies born at PGRH are exposed to drugs in the womb.
Last year, 43 babies at PGRH were identified with a drug addiction, a number Hay believes is lower than the actual total. If hospital staff suspect a baby has been exposed to drugs, they can only conduct a test with the mother's permission, or if the baby has been apprehended by the province.
Drug withdrawal symptoms in babies is becoming so common, staff recognize the signs right away. According to Hay, quoted in Saturday's Citizen, the signs include diarrhea, vomiting, sweating, tremulousness, rapid heart rate, fast breathing and high-pitched crying.
Because their mothers were users of drugs like crack cocaine, crystal meth or heroin while pregnant, they passed the drugs' destructive effects on to their innocent babies, many of whom begin life with regular doses of morphine or Valium.
How many of these babies will return to drug addiction in 15 or 20 years and repeat the cycle?
It can't be said often enough. Any drug -- including alcohol and nicotine -- is harmful to developing fetuses. The fleeting feeling of satisfaction derived from using drugs during pregnancy is potentially setting these babies up for a lifetime of problems too numerous to list.
Ridding our society of drugs is a pipe dream, unfortunately, but no baby has to be born addicted. The worsening trend is proof that anti-drug messages and initiatives are far less powerful than the drugs themselves.
Prince George needs more support services to help addicted mothers beat their battle and give their babies a fighting chance in life.
