Shocking statistics show 33 Lanarkshire babies born with addiction issues since 2017

dailyrecord.co.uk:

More than 30 babies born in Lanarkshire in the last four years were suffering from addiction issues at birth, "heartbreaking" new figures have revealed.Since 2017, 33 babies were found to have neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), showing signs of drug addiction because of their mother taking legal or illegal drugs during pregnancy.The total is likely to be even higher, as NHS Lanarkshire was unable to provide stats for the whole of last year.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android The symptoms of NAS, caused by drugs passing from the mother to her foetus’ blood stream during pregnancy include uncontrollable trembling, hyperactivity, blotchy skin and high-pitch crying.For 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 there were six cases in each calendar year, rising to nine for 2019/2020 and 12 for 2020/2021.In total, there were at least 852 cases across the whole of Scotland in the same time period, with the figure almost certainly higher as NHS Fife did not provide any statistics.The Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, who is also the party's health spokesperson, said the figures show the need for further investment to combat drug addiction and help recovery.He said: “The figures are utterly heartbreaking.