By Ray Reyes | The Tampa Tribune
Published July 25, 2011
The trembling can start just a day after they’re born.
Fevers take hold and the newborns become irritable, belting out constant high-pitched wails. They can have seizures and respiratory problems. In severe cases, death can occur within 10 days.
They are newborns in withdrawal from prescription painkillers taken by their mothers.
“These babies are very sad babies,” said Jean McCarthy, a neonatologist at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. “There’s been a dramatic increase in the last few years. It’s a huge epidemic.”
The number of infants born withdrawing from opiate-based pills such as oxycodone and hydrocodone is on the rise in the Tampa Bay area, doctors and other medical professionals say.
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