Nearly 12,600 babies born addicted to drugs in England since 2014

Thousands of babies have been born hooked on drugs in England over the past decade, new data has revealed.

More than 1,000 newborns have received treatment in England’s hospitals each year since 2014 after experiencing withdrawal symptoms from addictive substances.

The babies suffered from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), meaning they experienced withdrawal after their mothers consumed addictive substances or medication during pregnancy.

Nearly 12,600 cases of NAS have been recorded in England’s hospitals over the past decade, according to data obtained through freedom of information laws.

Paul Rompani, chief executive of the Addiction Family Support charity, describes the findings as ‘tragic’ and called on the Government to ramp up spending on treatment and rehabilitation for people grappling with addiction.

‘Treatment and rehabilitation services have room for significant improvement – for more funding, better awareness and understanding to address the challenge of stigma,’ he says.

‘The stigma of addiction makes it easy for people to turn a blind eye, judge people in addiction and to say, ‘They’ve made that decision, that’s their choice’.

‘The stigma surrounding the mother giving birth to a child with that condition is significant,’ he adds.

‘Friends, family and colleagues often don’t understand, find it difficult to empathise and, on many occasions, will actually judge them, whether they realise they are doing it or not.

‘If people better understand what addiction is and encourage and support more services to be available to people in addiction, then those people would not be ostracized and stigmatised.’

Dr Philippa Rees, a pediatrician and Clinical Research Fellow at University College London, says ‘NAS refers to a withdrawal syndrome that occurs when certain substances taken by the mother during pregnancy pass through the placenta and affect the baby.

‘NAS can result from exposure to a range of substances, including not only illicit drugs but also prescription medications such as methadone (commonly used in opioid substitution therapy) or antidepressants.

‘Therefore, mothers of these babies are not necessarily drug-addicted; many of them may be undergoing medically supervised treatment or rehabilitation.’

After birth, when the umbilical cord has been cut and the supply of addictive substances suddenly stops, babies may show symptoms of physical withdrawal similar to those experienced by adults.

‘In terms of symptoms, babies with NAS can experience a range of withdrawal signs such as irritability, feeding difficulties, tremors, vomiting, diarrhea, or seizures in severe cases.

‘Treatment typically involves supportive care—such as a calm environment and, in some cases, medication to manage withdrawal symptoms,’ Dr Rees adds.

‘The data on NAS is likely underreported for several reasons, including differences in diagnostic practices and coding across hospitals, and it may not capture all cases where NAS is present.

‘The actual prevalence may be higher than indicated.’

Mortality rates among mothers who give birth to babies with NAS are up to 12 times higher than mothers whose babies do not have the condition, according to a study by professors at University College London and the University of Ontario in Canada.

The study, which analysed data between 2002 and 2012, found that 10 years after giving birth, 5.1 percent of English mothers with infants suffering from NAS had died, compared with 0.4 percent of mothers whose infants did not have the condition.

‘No young woman wants to be in addiction giving birth to a child,’ Mr Rompani says.

‘That’s not a choice they want to happily make.

‘The harmful use of substances is something that is relatively easy to slip into. Everybody knows someone who drinks too much and, in these days, everybody knows someone who smokes cannabis.

‘You often encounter people who recreationally use drugs, but the line between recreational use and harmful use is very thin.’

Since 2014, there have been 12,599 cases of NAS recorded in hospitals across England.

The number of annual cases has decreased by nearly 18 per cent over the past 10 years, dropping from 1,287 in 2014 to 1,056 in 2023.

Provisional data shows that 1,001 cases were reported between January and November 2024.

‘It’s just sad to see those numbers because essentially it highlights the challenges of people in addiction,’ Mr Rompani adds. ‘They’re not insignificant numbers. Any numbers are a sad indication of the challenges in addiction.

‘In short – it’s tragic, it’s sad and any number of children born with that condition is an awful thing to see.’

The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for a comment.

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