OFFICIALS SUSPECT PROBLEM IS GROWING, AND IT STARTS BEFORE BIRTH

OWENSBORO - The number of children becoming victims of the methamphetamine
epidemic seems to be growing, some Western Kentucky medical officials said.

Pediatrician Don Neel estimated that one to two babies every month are born
in Daviess County to mothers who admit to being on methamphetamine.

About 3 percent of the babies born at Muhlenberg Community Hospital are
known to have been affected by meth, hospital administrator Lloyd Ford said.

The number used to be much higher until the hospital started routinely
testing all mothers for the drug last year, he said. Now, women apparently
are going elsewhere to have their babies or are finding ways to fool the
drug screen, he said.

By law, hospital officials have to notify state social services when a
woman and her infant both test positive for meth-amphetamine, officials said.

Meth-exposed babies might be irritable, uninterested in eating, or going
through withdrawal. The impact can depend on when in the pregnancy they
were exposed to the drug, and for how long. Some problems don't show up
until the child starts school.

Exposure after birth is a problem, too, officials say.

"We've got to stop people from making methamphetamine," said Neel, who
recently urged state legislators to make it harder for dealers to get the
ingredients to make the highly addictive drug.

The Senate voted for a bill limiting the sale of cold medicine commonly
used in making meth, but it still has to pass through the House.

"It's one of the major problems we have in our community," Neel said.

"It's not just a police problem. We as citizens have got to do what we can."

Statewide, law enforcement officials found 110 children in 2003 in the same
locations as meth labs, said Holly Hopper, chairwoman of the Kentucky
Alliance of Drug Endangered Children.

Methamphetamine poses some unique hazards for children, Hopper said.
Exposure to the labs can affect their respiratory system and cause chemical
burns.

To combat learning problems in school, children need individualized help.

"If we have intervention early on and don't just assume these children are
the next generations of drug addicts and criminal offenders, we've got a
shot," Hopper said.