Maine Governor Cites ‘Troubling Epidemic’ of Addicted Babies

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/us/maine-state-of-the-state-addicted-babies.html?partner=MYWAY&ei=5065&_r=0

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYEFEB. 5, 2014

With the country’s attention focused on overdoses and deaths because of heroin, Gov. Paul R. LePage of Maine on Tuesday turned the spotlight on babies that have been born in his state to drug-addicted mothers.

Mr. LePage said that 927 “drug-addicted babies” were born in Maine in 2013, more than 7 percent of all births. Speaking to the Legislature during his State of the State address, the governor called the births a “troubling epidemic” that was “tearing at the social fabric of our communities.”

“Each baby addicted to drugs creates a lifelong challenge for our health care system, schools and social services,” he said. The average cost for drug-addicted births in 2009, the latest year for which figures were available, was $53,000. “It is unacceptable to me that a baby should be born affected by drugs,” he said.

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