According to a newly published study in JAMA, neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) increased 82%, from 4.0 to 7.3 per 1000 birth hospitalizations in the U.S. between 2010 and 2017. The researchers also found that during the same time-period maternal opioid-related diagnoses increased 131%, from 3.5 to 8.2 per 1000 discharge hospitalizations. The greatest increases were observed among low income, non-Hispanic whites. West Virginia had the highest rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (54 per 1000) while Vermont had the highest rate of maternal opioid-related diagnoses (47 per 1000). Drug Free America Foundation Epidemiologist Dr. Sharif Mohr said, “Given the gravity of [...]