Panel issues rules for newborns exposed to drugs
BY RANDY ELLIS NewsOK.com
Saturday, January 26, 2013
1/26/13 at 5:15 AM
OKLAHOMA CITY - Rocked by a series of preventable infant deaths, the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth has adopted new recommendations for doctors and child welfare workers to follow in dealing with newborns exposed to drugs or alcohol in the womb.
"It's a big problem," said Dr. John Stuemky, a member of the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth and chief child abuse examiner for the state.
OU Medical Center sees three or four drug-positive babies and/or mothers a week, Stuemky said, adding that it is difficult to estimate how big the overall problem is because of underreporting.
Public attention was called to the situation by a series of high-profile deaths, including Maggie May Trammel, a 10-day-old infant who died in 2010 after being placed in a washing machine at her mother's Bartlesville home.
Original Print Headline: Panel issues rules to protect infants exposed to drugs
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