Missouri babies with opioid withdrawal may be underreported

ST. LOUIS (AP) — More than 3,700 pregnant women and new mothers were hospitalized in Missouri for opioid abuse in the past two years, according to a new report.

The Missouri Hospital Association research indicates that the number of babies born suffering withdrawal symptoms could be underreported, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. State data had only identified more than 1,080 newborns diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome during 2016 and 2017.

"The existing data didn't correlate well with what clinicians were reporting from the front lines of care," said Herb Kuhn, the association's...

 

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