cuddle drug addicted babies in uk

Cuddle care programs call on volunteers to snuggle newborns who suffer from neonatal abstinence syndrome NAS. January 20 2017 June 24 2019 by Kate Desmond.

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Rural areas have been hit especially hard with rising opioid use.

. Opioids continue to ravage every corner of the country impacting everyone from senior citizens to newborn infants. Lovelace says these volunteers are needed now more than ever as more and more babies are born addicted to drugs like meth cocaine and heroin. Vulnerable babies born addicted to painkillers or heroin are being soothed through their first difficult weeks by volunteers whose sole task is simply to.

VOLUNTEER cuddlers who stepped in to comfort drug addicted babies have dramatically reduced the need for medicine to control their withdrawal symptoms. A cuddle program for babies born addicted to opioids is helping the newborns withdraw from the drugs require less medication and recover sooner. The volunteer-led program is helping the youngest victims of Americas opioid epidemic.

Babies exposed to drugs in utero may experience developmental consequences including impaired growth birth defects and altered brain development. According to the CDC since 1999 the number of prescriptions written for opioids in America has. Cuddle Care Volunteer Programs.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA a drug-addicted baby is born in the United States every 25 minutes. As a result cuddle care programs have been established across the country to help these babies born addicted to opioids. Vulnerable babies born addicted to painkillers or heroin are being soothed through their first difficult weeks by volunteers whose sole task is simply to.

Thats right some babies are even born addicted to drugs and the numbers are growing daily. The opportunity to hug and snuggle these special babies who are born addicted to drugs has proven to be extremely beneficial to their healing. Symptoms can include diarrhea fever seizures.

Increase in Drug-Addicted Babies is the Result of Nationwide Trends. The increasing number of newborns suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome NAS as a result of parents struggling with drug addiction requires that a special amount of care is given in order for them to survive. Opioid addiction has reached crisis levels in America with the number of drug addicted babies born in the US having quadrupled in the last decade.

Lovelace says two years ago theyd care for about 3 to 5 drug-addicted babies. According to MedlinePlus NAS is a group of problems that occur in a newborn who was exposed to addictive opiate drugs such as but not limited to heroin codeine and oxycontin while in the mothers womb. You Can Volunteer To Cuddle Drug-Addicted Babies To Help Them Heal.

Prenatal drug exposure may impact the childs behavior language cognition and achievement long term. In fact at Magee-Womens Hospital its one of the most popular volunteer programs and the waiting list is long. Could there be a sweeter and more rewarding volunteer opportunity.

Thats now doubled to about 6 to 10 a month. The first few days are a battle simply to stay alive and babies will require special care in the hospital to help them to endure the excruciating withdrawal process of getting their tiny bodies off whatever opiate they are addicted to. There are schemes in america we are currently trying to find any uk based ones for you where you can go in and spend some quality time cuddling these babies.

The good news is theres no shortage of cuddle volunteers. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse one baby every 25 minutes is born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome NAS which requires the babies to go through a withdrawal program where they. From 2004 to 2013 rural hospitals saw a seven fold increase in infants born dependent on drugs.

Cuddler program for babies is helping newborns recover faster from withdrawal symptoms. In this case babies born addicted to drugs. Now hospitals are responding by establishing cuddler programs in which volunteers hold and cuddle drug-addicted babies to provide relief from withdrawal and to help them heal.

Their mothers and sometimes both parents struggling with the complications of an addicted life are not always able to cuddle babies and provide consistent love skin to skin time and mothers milk over the long weeks of a neonates stay in hospital all of which are so vital to a pre-term babys long-term health. Drug use during pregnancy may also lead to miscarriage or pre-term labor. Cuddlers cradle sick or premature babies when their parents need a break.

The Heartbreaking Withdrawal Of Drug Dependent Newborns