Volunteer Beverly Thornton cuddles a newborn baby afflicted with neonatal abstinence syndrome at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. The number of babies with NAS, caused by exposure to opioids, has increased in recent years.

Addiction to opioids affects men and women and, in an increasing number of cases, newborn babies.

Some babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy have birth defects that affect them throughout life, while more commonly they suffer from drug withdrawal — called neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, in the medical world.

The number of newborns hospitalized for NAS in Pennsylvania has increased by 1,000 percent over the last 17 years, according to a recent research brief from the Pennsylvania Healthcare Cost Containment Council.

The rate jumped from 0.12 percent in 2000 to 1.5 percent in 2016. Statewide there were 1,912 NAS hospitalizations in 2016, while in Butler County, there were 70 and a rate of 1.93 percent.

Many pregnant women in the region who are struggling with addiction get referred to UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital's Pregnancy Recovery Center, said Patty Genday, executive director of women's services at the hospital.

Last year UPMC received a state grant that allowed it to expand its recovery program to five new locations, including an office in Pullman Square in Butler.

The statewide numbers don't account for babies who go through NAS after leaving the hospital.

There are about 1,000 babies born each year at Butler Memorial Hospital and the staff there also monitors newborns for NAS if they know the mother was using drugs, Dr. Christania Morganti said, a pediatrician at Butler Memorial Hospital.

Symptoms of NAS include excessive crying, fever, seizures, poor feeding, rapid breathing, sleep problems, rash, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Staff at the hospital will first try non-medical treatments to soothe the babies.

The hospital is well-known for its cuddler program. Volunteers hold, rock and sing to the babies.

While NAS is temporary, opioid exposure in the womb can cause other medical problems.

Both Butler Memorial and Magee-Womens have also seen an increase recently in mothers who used cocaine during pregnancy, which is known to cause strokes in newborns and other defects.

A full story will appear in the Butler Eagle.