Doctors in Oregon are reportedly seeing a rise in pregnant women using fentanyl, which is ultimately causing newborns to begin their lives struggling with withdrawal symptoms.

“The use of fentanyl has increased quite a bit in pregnancy just in the last few years,” Dr. Dmitry Dukhovny, a pediatrics professor and medical director of OHSU’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Portland, told KGW8 this week. “Some of the things that we’re seeing is the [fentanyl] withdrawal starting out early. It starts almost right away in the first 12 to 24 hours of life versus some of the other opiates.”

Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – MAY 03: High levels of drug use, homelessness, poverty, crime, mental illness and sex work is prolific along East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighborhood on Tuesday, May 3, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Supervised consumption sites in the DTES give addicts who use fentanyl, opioids, crystal methamphetamine and other drugs a place to use and get harm reduction supplies; clean syringes, alcohol swabs, sterile water, tourniquets, spoons and filters. On April 14, 2016, provincial health officer Dr. Perry Kendall declared a public health emergency under the Public Health Act due to the significant rise in opioid-related overdose deaths reported in B.C. since the beginning of 2016. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

KGW8 first reported on a homeless woman addicted to fentanyl who gave birth in her tent two weeks ago. While the mother is back on the streets, her baby is still at the hospital, although officials would not update the outlet on the child’s condition. 

“It’s another tragic side of Portland’s fentanyl crisis that medical professionals say is on the rise,” the report states.

Dmitry told the outlet the medical community is still learning how to handle fentanyl withdrawal symptoms among infants.

 “Specifically for fentanyl — and again, we as a community don’t quite understand why yet — but it’s the poor feeding and the early withdrawal that often requires the medications early on to manage them … We know it’s a huge problem, and it’s a huge problem for that person not getting the necessary care during their pregnancy,” Dmitry said.

In the political sphere, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed legislation to recriminalize drug possession three years after the state became the first in the nation to decriminalize the possession and personal use of all drugs.

House Bill 4002 reversed parts of Measure 110, which was a voter ballot initiative in 2020 that scrapped certain penalties for drug possession. The measure passed with 58.5 percent support and went into effect in 2021.

Kotek signed the HB 4002 after declaring a fentanyl state of emergency in downtown Portland. Opioid deaths in the state tripled between 2019 and 2022, “with many of the deaths attributed to the rise in fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid,” CNN reported. 

Critics of Measure 110 have blamed the initiative for exacerbating the fentanyl crisis in the state.

“You look at what has happened: open fentanyl, open drugs on the streets,” Republican state Rep. Jeff Helfrich said at the time of the bill’s passage. “(Measure) 110 is an unmitigated disaster.”