More than 1,300 babies in Scotland born dependent on drugs
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
More than 1,300 babies in Scotland have been born dependent on drugs in only seven years, according to official figures.
Statistics compiled by the Scottish Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information showed that at least 1,363 babies were born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) since 2017.
The syndrome occurs when babies have been exposed to drugs such as opioids while in the womb, with withdrawal symptoms possible after birth. However, the total also included those addicted to legal substances.
Symptoms - caused by drugs passing from the mother to her foetus’s blood stream during pregnancy - include uncontrollable trembling, hyperactivity, blotchy skin and high-pitch crying.
The health boards reporting the most cases over the seven years were NHS Lothian with 692, NHS Grampian with 209 and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 201.
Alex Cole-Hamilton, the Scottish Lib Dem leader, said SNP ministers needed to “shoulder some of the blame” after budget cuts led to drugs and alcohol services closing their doors.
Before her sudden resignation last February, Nicola Sturgeon promised to make tackling the scourge her “national mission” and admitted her government took its “eye off the ball”.
Figures published last month said there were 900 suspected drug deaths between January and September 2023, 13 per cent (103) more than in the same period in 2022.
Even before the latest increase, Scotland’s drug death rate was 2.7 times more than the UK average and far higher than anywhere else in Europe, with Glasgow overtaking Dundee as the worst hotspot.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “Drug deaths make the headlines but, in a host of other ways, drug misuse can make lives a misery.
“There is perhaps no more awful start for a newborn baby than to be born dependent on drugs. The Scottish Government needs to shoulder some of the blame.
“The cuts they delivered meant drug and alcohol services closed their doors and valuable expertise was lost.”
The figures show 243 NAS cases were reported in 2017/18 and 201 the following year. In each of the following two years 165 cases were recorded, rising to 210 in 2021/22.
Although this dropped to 186 in 2022/23, the total rose again to 195 in the remainder of last year.
Elena Whitham, the SNP’s Drug Policy Minister, said: “No newborn baby should be born dependent on substances and mothers should be able to get the help they need, free from judgment and stigma.
“We are increasing investment in local services and providing support to women and families as part of our national mission, backed by £250 million, to tackle the drug deaths emergency.”
She said drug policy funding had increased by 67 per cent in real terms between 2014/15 and 2023/24.
A pilot “safer drugs consumption facility” is being set up in Glasgow, where users can take illegal substances in a “hygienic” environment with health professionals present.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC has agreed to issue new guidelines so those using the facility are not prosecuted.
