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Improved Care Could Be on the Way for Babies Born Addicted to Drugs

The bill would fund a new data surveillance system. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons
The bill would fund a new data surveillance system. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio’s introduced the Protecting Newborns from Opioid Abuse Act on Thursday. It would set up a new system of collecting information around mothers and babies affected by Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and sharing it with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

There's been a five-fold increase in these births from 2000 to 2012, with more than 22,000 babies being born with symptoms of withdrawal.

To listen to the full story, please click on the clip above.

Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.