First lady Melania Trump was greeted by protesters during her visit to Boston Medical Center where she praised the hospital’s “care and compassion” for babies born addicted to opiates and mothers struggling to kick the habit.
She sat in on a roundtable where BMC doctors and staff told of a unique program where moms and volunteers cuddle newborns to help ease their pain of withdrawal.
She learned how some children born addicted turn to drugs themselves as young as 6 years old and overdoses are now the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths.
“As you may know, this is an issue I am very focused on,” the first lady said. “I hope today’s visit helps shine a light on programs like yours.
“It is so important to acknowledge and show gratitude for what you are doing to help,” Trump added. She later thanked BMC for “welcoming” her — at least in the basement conference room and in the halls of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she reportedly met with families.
The first lady was at the roundtable with the governor’s wife, Lauren Baker; U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar; and BMC president Kate Walsh, along with other doctors at the hospital. It was a somber lunch-hour panel as hundreds protested in the quad outside — some mocking the first lady by writing on their lab coats.
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump arrives for a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump greets Massachusetts First Lady Lauren Baker prior to a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump listens during a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump arrives for a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: First Lady Melania Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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First Lady Melania Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on Nov. 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts.
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M Azar, II, participates in a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex M Azar, II, left, First Lady Melania Trump, and Boston Medical Center President and CEO Kate Walsh participate in a roundtable discussion at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: Dianna Ploss, the founder of MA 4 Trump, center, holds a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump as she faces off with people protesting First Lady Melania Trump's visit at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: Dianna Ploss, the founder of MA 4 Trump, center, holds a cardboard cutout of President Donald Trump as she faces off with people protesting First Lady Melania Trump's visit at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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BOSTON, MA - NOVEMBER 6: A Boston University medical student holds a sign during a protest over the visit of First Lady Malania Trump at Boston Medical Center on November 6, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Angela Rowlings/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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A petition singed by 250 hospital employees who wanted the visit canceled failed. The first lady avoided any conflict and said she was impressed by the “care and compassion that the medical staff devotes to the patients and their families.”
She also vowed to “continue to raise awareness about Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and promote the incredibly important resources and programs that provide families with the care and help they need.” The syndrome is named for newborns forced to withdraw from drugs they were exposed to while in the womb.
Babies born addicted experience tremors, sleep problems, irritability, seizures and hyperactivity. There is no standard treatment plan for babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
The infants stay in the hospital for an average of three weeks and are usually treated without medication by implementing techniques like skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding and rooming in with their mother.
In 2015, the rate of babies born addicted to drugs in Massachusetts was about 14.5 cases per 1,000 hospital births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Across the country, one child is born with withdrawal symptoms every 15 minutes and care costs an average of $66,000, compared to $3,500 for a healthy newborn.
The visit to Boston was part of the first lady’s “Be Best” initiative with Azar saying the Trump administration is focusing on the opioid crisis and the “heartbreaking” neonatal opioid withdrawal.
Alexi Cohan contributed to this report.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/34DvwJM
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