Children exposed to opioids in the womb suffer cognitive delays for years

Author: Angle News

jenny cu [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

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Children whose mothers used opioids while they were pregnant continue to show cognitive and motor skill effects from the drugs through adolescence, according to a new study. 

The opioid epidemic’s victims are not just the people who develop addictions, but their families and even, the new study suggests, generations after them.  ​

About every 15 minutes, a baby is born with opioid withdrawals, and opioid use among pregnant women is up five-fold in the US. 

And, according to new research from the Royal Hospital for Women in Australia, children who were exposed to opioids in the womb may have lower IQs and are at a three-fold higher risk for a severe intellectual disability. 
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These brain effects of the drugs will follow them throughout life, likely limiting their financial and social success considerably. 

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