Neonatal abstinence syndrome and the pediatric hospitalist.

Adult diseases cause signifi cant pediatric morbidity. Eleven percent of women of childbearing age are current illicit drug users, and 5% of pregnant women selfreport drug use during pregnancy, which is no doubt an underestimate of the true prevalence. Opiates are the second most common class of abused drugs, after marijuana. Despite the commonly held belief that most opiates are street drugs, the majority of abusers obtain prescription narcotics from physicians, family members, or friends.1