Beckley Register-Herald: Congressman Jenkins meets with local health officials to discuss NAS babies

RONCEVERTE — About 500 babies are delivered at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center (GVMC) each year. Three years ago, 19 percent of babies born suffered from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or NAS.

That’s about 100 babies each year who suffer the effects of withdrawal from being exposed to drugs in the womb, officials said Friday.

After having several interventions and getting drug-addicted mothers the help they need, the number has dropped to about 5 percent. That’s still too high, according to West Virginia Congressman Evan Jenkins.

Jenkins visited GVMC Friday to talk to staff about how NAS affects lives, big and small.

Vivian Davies, director of Women’s Services at GVMC, said segments of umbilical cords are tested for drug exposure.

“Normally, if the cord tests negative for drugs, we get that result back quickly,” Vivian Davies said. “If it’s positive for drugs, it takes a few days to get results.”

Those few days of waiting can be a major problem if insurance providers don’t want to pay for five days' worth of care for an infant.

“Normally they pay for three days,” Davies said. “Oftentimes the symptoms don’t appear for five days and that’s a problem. We’ve had babies that needed to stay for 30 days. The hospital ends up eating the cost of caring for those children.”

Jenkins said it costs about $4,500 to deliver a healthy baby. An NAS baby costs the state about $70,000.

Not only is it costly to take care of an NAS baby, it’s taxing as well, Davies said.

“It’s extremely hard on the nurses,” she said. “The nurses are often taking care of babies while the mom is out there doing drugs. That’s just frustrating.”

An NAS baby must be weaned off of drugs slowly so they can live a happy, full life.

It may seem like nothing can be done to ease the baby's pain, but we know enough about the babies to treat them in the best way possible, according to an addictions therapist from the GVMC.

“We have these little swings called MamaRoos,” Tameran Asbury said. “They sway and rock in a way that is soothing to NAS babies. You can’t hold an NAS baby. Touch makes them panic because they are hyper-sensitive.”

Low-lighting and quiet environments are soothing for the babies, too. While the baby is soothed, the drug-weaning process starts. For some babies, this can take days or weeks.

“For others, like a baby we had recently, it can take months,” Asbury said.

Jenkins said he once held an NAS baby and it changed his life.

“Five years ago, two nurses invited me to see and understand the ravages of a newborn who was drug-exposed,” he said. “They are born and they have to essentially detox.

“NAS babies are rigid. They cry incessantly. They’re inconsolable. They have the potential for seizures and serious intestinal issues. They sweat constantly. They pretty much have all the symptoms of an adult who is going through withdrawal.”

Withdrawal is tough on adults, so it can only be pure suffering for someone who is 2 days old, Jenkins said.

“These are the most victimized victims in all of the drug crisis,” he said. “Their suffering is simply unacceptable to me.”

Jenkins co-sponsored a bill to help NAS babies that was signed into law Wednesday by President Barack Obama.

The bill, called the “Protecting Our Infants Act,” will build a system to better treat babies that are affected by NAS.

Congressman Jenkins also introduced a bill Wednesday that would offer clinical care to NAS babies while giving counseling to mothers and families. The bill also expands Medicaid coverage to victims of NAS.