140 babies born in Midlands addicted to drugs.

Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA

MORE than 140 children were born with a drug dependency in the Midlands last year.

Shock new Department of Health figures show that 146 junkie mums on crack cocaine and heroin passed on their addiction to their unborn babies.

And in the past six years the numbers of children born to mums addicted to some sort of drug, including tobacco and alcohol, has continued to rise.

Experts have warned drug use during pregnancy can leave children suffering crippling withdrawal symptoms and long-term health problems.

West Midland's Euro MP Liz Lynne said: "The figures for babies being born to drug dependent mothers in the West Midlands is the third highest in the country, which is extremely worrying.

"We must do more to provide adequate treatment and services for people addicted to drugs at local level.

"We need to treat addiction as a disease not as something that people can just stop without help.

"I know that we have some good services in the West Midlands already, but we must build on those.

"What we need is more funding to be earmarked for treatment of drug and other addictions. If we don't do this we will see a continuous rise in babies born to addicted mothers, as we have seen in the last few years."

She added: "There is much we can learn through the exchange of best practice from other EU countries.

"Poland for example has a legal obligation for the social reintegration of drug users, Belgium believes that poverty and addiction are intertwined and Denmark requires all local authorities to provide a social action plan for all drug users.

"I am not saying that any of these are the right answer.

"But we do need to put our heads together so that not only those of us in this region can benefit. We can hopefully reach some sort of consensus by pooling expertise from across the EU to address the problem of addiction in a more successful way."

A spokesman for drug treatment agency, Addaction, said: "Drug use among parents is a big problem and it has been on the increase for some years.

"Pregnancy can be a catalyst for people to stop using drugs but, in some cases, that does not happen."

Symptoms in newborns where mothers have used hard drugs like heroin can include shivering and crippling stomach cramps.

Cocaine can cause irritability and feeding difficulties, while drugs like diazepam can lead to babies having fits.

Long-term drug use during pregnancy can also lead to children being born at a low birth weight.

Several studies have shown that children born to mothers with a drug addiction can also lead to Sudden Infant Death.

The youngsters' development can also be badly affected, with many suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The statistics come after it was revealed that more and more children are being put into care because of their drug addicted mothers.

One Midland woman had all 15 of her children taken off her by social workers after she was unable to kick her habit.

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