More Windsor-Essex babies hospitalized due to mothers' addictions

Katie Rocheleau had already lost custody of her two other daughters due to her opioid addiction. She was using opioids intravenously and living in a drug house when she learned was pregnant with her third daughter, Serenity.

Rocheleau was put on Subutex, a drug used as a treatment for opioid dependence, early during her pregnancy. As a result, Serenity was born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.  

Katie's experience is part of a trend being highlighted in a new report by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

Growing issue

Fifty-five of the 3,854 babies born last year in the Windsor-Essex region had to be hospitalized due to their mother's drug addiction, according to a report by the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

The rate of infants, aged 0-28 days, being hospitalized due to maternal drug addiction in the region has increased over the past 12 years, according to that same report.

In 2003, the rate of infants hospitalized that were affected by maternal addiction in Windsor-Essex was 1.9 per 1,000 births. That rate shot up to 14.3 in 2014, according to the report.

In comparison, the provincial numbers for the same time frame were 2.2, per 1,000 births and rose to 7.8 in 2014, according to the report.

Struggling with addiction while pregnant

When Serenity was born she had neonatal abstinence syndrome. 

If a mother is taking opioids the substances pass through the placenta that connects the baby to the womb and thus the baby becomes addicted along with the mother, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website.

"She just had a little bit of the shakes and crying and stuff, " said Rocheleau in an interview with CBC News. "Luckily the low dose (of morphine) helped Serenity."

After a few weeks baby Serenity was weaned off morphine and seems to be doing fine now at 17 months of age.

Ask for help

Dr. Bill Mundle, the medical director of maternal fetal medicine at Windsor Regional Hospital, said it's important for pregnant women disclose any drug and/or alcohol use with their doctors so the medical professional can help the mother and the baby.

Mundle said women are becoming more comfortable disclosing if they are struggling with addiction and that may partially explain the rise in infants being hospitalized for maternal addiction in this region.

Karen Waddell, the executive director at the House of Sophrosyne, agrees women are more open about disclosing and seeking help for addictions.

"I think we've finally got through to women – it's OK if you have a problem," said Waddell, the head of a residential treatment program for women in Windsor.

This is part two of a three-part series. Read the first part here. The series wraps up this Friday, with a look at how law enforcement and social-service agencies are dealing with opioid misuse in this region.