VOA标准英语2012--US Doctors See Surge In Newborns Addicted To Mothers' Pain Pills

US Doctors See Surge In Newborns Addicted¹ To Mothers' Pain Pills 

In delivery rooms across the United States, doctors are seeing more and more mothers addicted to prescription² pain killers³. 

The increase is so great that Dr. Stephen Patrick at the University of Michigan decided⁴ to review hospital records to find out just how serious the problem is. His own experience provided the motivation. 

“What we found was that, from 2000 to 2009, the number of babies having drug withdrawal⁵ increased by three times," said Dr. Patrick. "In addition, we found that the number of mothers using opiates at the time of delivery went up by fivefold.” 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention call prescription drug abuse the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. Opiates commonly abused are prescription pain killers such as oxycodone as well as illegal drugs like heroin⁶. 

Dr. Patrick says babies born with these drugs in their systems have more costly⁷ and complex hospital stays as they go through drug withdrawal known as neonatal abstinence syndrome⁸.

“Common symptoms that babies exhibit after they’re born are irritability⁹, difficulty feeding, difficulty breathing, we also know that babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome are more likely to be born with low birth weight,” he said. 

What's not known is whether these babies will suffer long-term health consequences. Another problem is that these babies can need the same drugs addicts¹⁰ receive - like methadone - until the baby can be weaned off the opiates. Because the babies are so small, death from overdosing is a real danger. Plus, when pregnant women use opiates, they increase the chances of delivering a dead baby. 

Dr. Patrick calls the situation a public health emergency that requires attention from all levels of government as well as from researchers. Experts say the best outcome would be to get mothers-to-be off opiates before they become pregnant. 

The report appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

1 addicted   

adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的

参考例句：

• He was addicted to heroin at the age of 17.他17岁的时候对海洛因上了瘾。
• She's become addicted to love stories.她迷上了爱情小说。

2 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

3 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

6 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

9 irritability   

n.易怒

参考例句：

• It was the almost furtive restlessness and irritability that had possessed him. 那是一种一直纠缠着他的隐秘的不安和烦恼。
• All organisms have irritability while alive. 所有生物体活着时都有应激性。

10 addicts   

有…瘾的人( addict的名词复数 )； 入迷的人

参考例句：

• a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts 帮助吸毒者恢复正常生活的机构
• There is counseling to help Internet addicts?even online. 有咨询机构帮助网络沉迷者。 来自超越目标英语 第3册