Drug use among pregnant women in West Virginia appears to be increasing rapidly, crowding hospital newborn intensive-care units and prompting state lawmakers to search for a solution.

The number of newborns treated for drug withdrawal doubled from 2003 to 2005, according to a new study from the state Perinatal Partnership. In 1999, 14 babies were discharged from hospitals after being treated for withdrawal. The number rose to 119 in 2006.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Dr. Stefan Maxwell, chief of pediatrics and director of Neonatal Intensive Care Services at CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital in Charleston.

Cabell Huntington Hospital had the most drug-addicted newborns, followed by CAMC and Martinsburg’s City Hospital, according to the report. Women who abuse drugs while pregnant are more likely to have babies with birth defects, developmental disabilities, low birth weights and drug withdrawal symptoms — sweating, shaking, extreme fussiness and vomiting.

The babies usually are treated with methadone or morphine.

“We put them on methadone to control withdrawal and slowly wean them off,” Maxwell said. “It may take weeks to do it.”

Doctors believe hospitals are underreporting the number of newborns who must be detoxified because some drugs can’t be identified through normal testing, and some mothers aren’t tested at all.

“The information is spotty,” said Maxwell, who served as chairman of the committee that issued the report.

Last week, state lawmakers introduced a bill that would require doctors and midwives to perform uniform health screenings of pregnant women statewide. The results of the screenings would be kept confidential, and women who admit to using drugs during pregnancy wouldn’t face criminal prosecution, according to the proposed legislation. The state Bureau of Public Health would develop the screening tool.

“We’re going to be able to identify the problem early, get them in a treatment program and keep the information confidential,” Maxwell said.

The public health bureau reported that 373 pregnant women in West Virginia were treated for substance abuse in 2006. Of those, 214 received treatment at behavioral-health centers and 159 at methadone clinics. Drug use among pregnant women was spread across the state, not isolated to a specific region.

Drug use among pregnant women in West Virginia appears to be increasing rapidly, crowding hospital newborn intensive-care units and prompting state lawmakers to search for a solution.

The number of newborns treated for drug withdrawal doubled from 2003 to 2005, according to a new study from the state Perinatal Partnership. In 1999, 14 babies were discharged from hospitals after being treated for withdrawal. The number rose to 119 in 2006.

“It’s a huge problem,” said Dr. Stefan Maxwell, chief of pediatrics and director of Neonatal Intensive Care Services at CAMC Women and Children’s Hospital in Charleston.

Cabell Huntington Hospital had the most drug-addicted newborns, followed by CAMC and Martinsburg’s City Hospital, according to the report. Women who abuse drugs while pregnant are more likely to have babies with birth defects, developmental disabilities, low birth weights and drug withdrawal symptoms — sweating, shaking, extreme fussiness and vomiting.

The babies usually are treated with methadone or morphine.

“We put them on methadone to control withdrawal and slowly wean them off,” Maxwell said. “It may take weeks to do it.”

Doctors believe hospitals are underreporting the number of newborns who must be detoxified because some drugs can’t be identified through normal testing, and some mothers aren’t tested at all.

“The information is spotty,” said Maxwell, who served as chairman of the committee that issued the report.

Last week, state lawmakers introduced a bill that would require doctors and midwives to perform uniform health screenings of pregnant women statewide. The results of the screenings would be kept confidential, and women who admit to using drugs during pregnancy wouldn’t face criminal prosecution, according to the proposed legislation. The state Bureau of Public Health would develop the screening tool.

“We’re going to be able to identify the problem early, get them in a treatment program and keep the information confidential,” Maxwell said.

The public health bureau reported that 373 pregnant women in West Virginia were treated for substance abuse in 2006. Of those, 214 received treatment at behavioral-health centers and 159 at methadone clinics. Drug use among pregnant women was spread across the state, not isolated to a specific region.

In a survey, obstetric nurse managers at West Virginia hospitals said pregnant women most commonly used marijuana, followed by opiates and cocaine.

Nearly 90 percent of hospitals reported that they had discharged infants who’d had to be detoxified, according the study.

“There are hospitals saying we don’t have a problem. That isn’t possible,” Maxwell said. “Part of the reason is the right questions aren’t being asked.”

In some cases, infants whose mothers abused drugs don’t demonstrate withdrawal signs until the third to fifth day after birth, the report said. By that time, they’re already at home.

Also, some doctors’ offices and clinics don’t ask or test pregnant women for drug use, fearing that the mothers won’t seek prenatal care if they must disclose their addiction, according to the study.

Most babies born from drug-addicted mothers must be treated in newborn intensive-care units. A previous Perinatal Partnership study found that some West Virginia hospitals were turning away babies in distress because of a shortage of neonatal intensive-care beds.

To meet the demand, West Virginia University Hospitals and Cabell Huntington Hospital recently added beds for sick babies. Still, many rural hospitals and clinics report that they have a difficult time finding beds at larger hospitals for high-risk mothers and infants, the report said.

In addition to mandatory testing, Maxwell’s committee recommended that West Virginia examine what other states are doing to address the problem, and study the extra costs of treating babies whose mothers are addicted to drugs.

“We still don’t know what the prevalence in the state is exactly,” Maxwell said, “but it’s an increasing problem — and it’s all over the state.”

To contact staff writer Eric Eyre, use e-mail or call 348-4869.