Blogs » On the beat

A rough start

By ANN MARIE AMES Thursday, January 5, 2012 - 2:50 p.m.

My job involves a lot of learning about other people's jobs. Often, I think, "I don't know how they do it."

That's what I was thinking this afternoon when I got off the phone with Elizabeth Goetz, a doctor who works in Madison with newborn babies. Among other medical issues, she sees many babies born addicted to opiates including oxycontin, methadone or heroin.

The withdrawals start about 48 hours after birth and can last a few days. Treatment options vary. On the mild end, they include swaddling the baby tightly and keeping him or her in a quiet, dark room. On the other end, some babies need morphine treatment to ease the pain of withdrawal.

Many babies are born addicted to tobacco or other substances in addition to opiates.

I know personally how miserable tobacco withdrawal can be. I can't imagine how rough it must be for those little ones to have to detox from one or more substances.

We are always looking for ways to illustrate the effects heroin has in our community. I welcome your suggestions, even though they are likely to be sad. It's an important subject.

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janesvillecomments
Jan 6, 2012 at 4:26 p.m.
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Giving birth to an addicted baby should be a felony. A year in prison with random screenings for drugs, as well as mandatory counseling, plus having the state take custody of the child for that year should be the minimum penalty. Second offense, 5 years and the woman loses permanent custody of the children. The woman can have 3 years removed from her second sentence if she voluntarily submits to surgery to render her incapable of conceiving any more children.

tthompson
Jan 5, 2012 at 6:04 p.m.
Suggest removal

The war on drugs has failed. It has failed at reducing the use and it has failed at reducing the supply. From a cost effective standpoint, fail is an understatement. BILLIONS of dollars spent and not one single improvement in any aspect the war on drugs is trying to fight. I don't have all the answers on how to improve drug use/abuse in our society, but the FACTS are that the approach we are taking now is a joke. A crazy expletive joke.

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