It can go on for days and days and feel like it will never end.
But now, imagine struggling through that as a newborn baby, an infant who cannot understand the cause of their misery and who never had a choice or a chance in the first place.
Such children suffer from a condition called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a twisted gift from an addicted mother who passed that addiction on to her unborn baby, who became hooked on drugs in the womb.
“There’s not really very many … punishments for people doing drugs.”
A shockingly high number of babies are born with NAS in Washington State, particularly in Spokane County, where NAS births are nearly double the state average (11.2 per 1,000 live births) and more than three times the most recent national rate reported (6.2 per 1,000).
In 2000, NAS occurred in only two out of every 1,000 births in Washington. Between 2013 and 2020, that figure more than quadrupled.
And while the national rate remained stable, Washington’s NAS rate increased every year from 2019 to 2022. Worse, those frightening numbers may only be scratching the surface of a much larger problem.
“Having an accurate picture of how common NAS is in this community is an important part of addressing the problem,” said Washington State University researcher Celestina Barbosa-Leiker. “Given inconsistencies in medical diagnosis codes used for the condition, currently available prevalence statistics are most likely significantly underreporting the number of NAS cases.”
In 2023, Washington stopped mandating that hospitals report NAS cases in order to reduce the “stigma” surrounding drug-addicted mothers. There is now no reporting unless an “imminent risk of serious harm” is present.
The possession of drugs in Washington State was first reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor in 2021, then to a gross misdemeanor for controlled substances in 2023, punishable by 180 days in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.
Possession by adults of up to one ounce of marijuana, 16 ounces of cannabis edibles, 72 ounces of cannabis-infused liquid product or 7 grams of cannabis concentrate is perfectly legal in Washington State.
Maddie’s Place, a pediatric transitional care facility in Washington State, offers low-intervention, nurturing care. The average length of stay for the babies is 56 days and, after escaping their addiction, the majority are released to parents or other relatives.
According to a recent news report, Erin, one of the mothers of a baby at Maddie’s Place, said the increase in NAS may be caused by “Washington’s drug policies. In 2021, Washington downgraded drug possession to a misdemeanor.”
“There’s not really very many … punishments for people doing drugs,” Erin said.
“We should have alarm bells that are going off,” said Maddie’s Place President and CEO Shaun Cross. “This should be our number one priority in dealing with this. We’re in a freefall.”
