Cole-Hamilton reveals at least 1,500 babies born addicted to drugs

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today demanded that the Scottish Government commit to creating world-leading drug and alcohol services after new figures revealed that more than 1,500 babies have been born dependent on substances since 2017.

Statistics compiled by the Scottish Liberal Democrats through freedom of information requests show that at least 1,501 babies were born with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) - showing signs of drug addiction because of their mother taking legal or illegal drugs during pregnancy.

The health boards reporting the most cases were NHS Lothian with 774, NHS Grampian with 209 and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 221.

The symptoms of NAS, caused by drugs passing from the mother to her foetus’ blood stream during pregnancy, include uncontrollable trembling, hyperactivity, blotchy skin and high pitch crying.

Commenting, Mr Cole-Hamilton said:

“There is perhaps no worse start in life for a newborn baby than to be born dependent on drugs.

“The Scottish Government regularly make the headlines for their mishandling of drug deaths but in a host of other ways drug misuse can make lives a misery.

“Nicola Sturgeon cut the budget for drug and alcohol services and predictably this meant some services closing their doors and valuable expertise being lost. The current budget proposed by John Swinney risks making the same mistake again.

“I don’t want to see future generations still struggling with drug misuse. It’s time to turn the page and invest in local services which are best placed to intervene to stop lives from being lost and new lives starting dependent on substances.”