300,000 children

Also: The local drug company that put patients first [Donate ❤️]( [View in Browser](  May 21, 2024 Hi CommonHealth reader, Earlier this year, in a suburban kitchen outside Boston, I watched a conversation between a teenager and her grandmother become a shouting match. The topic had turned to the girl’s mother, who died of an overdose. She was so selfish, the girl said, why didn’t she stop using drugs and get a job when she got pregnant with me? It's the kind of painful question [more than 300,000 children]( who lost a parent to a fatal overdose between 2011 and 2021 may be asking. I’ve had a glimpse while covering the overdose crisis. Many of the kids and teens I've met harbor a vast well of anger, frustration and despair that clinicians say the U.S. is only beginning to acknowledge and address. The grandmother in the kitchen, torn between devotion to her granddaughter and grief over her daughter’s death, threw up her hands. She knew the teen didn't yet understand how addiction works. In another Massachusetts town, a woman raising her sister’s child told me she hasn’t had time to process her sibling’s death. She's been too overwhelmed by the stress of learning to parent. Her sister’s daughter is still young. But she already wonders how much she should share with the child about her mother’s life while using drugs and the reasons for her death. These are agonizing questions. Researchers estimate that almost half of the Americans who suffered a fatal overdose between 2011 and 2021 had a child. “These findings emphasize the need to better support parents in accessing prevention, treatment, and recovery services," Dr. Nora Volkow, a study co-author who directs the National Institute on Drug Abuse, said in a statement. “Any child who loses a parent to overdose must receive the care and support they need to navigate this painful and traumatic experience.” Care for these children has largely focused on the lingering physical or cognitive [effects of neonatal abstinence syndrome]( and the effects of drug use in utero. Dr. Sarah Stulac, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center, says the traumatic emotional impact of losing a parent to an overdose gets very little attention. “It’s everything from having witnessed an overdose or death, to more of a chronic trauma from living in a home with a parent who is unable to parent because of their substance use,” said Stulac, who leads a program for families affected by drug use. Stulac is also part of a research group assessing the social and emotional development of children who’ve received care through the program in the seven years since it opened. “We’re just seeing this explosion of school-aged kid issues where there is almost always a combination of trauma and other issues like ADHD,” Stulac said. Stulac hopes defining the impact of trauma on family members following an overdose will offer proof of the need for specific services for these children — services that could reduce the risk they turn to drugs or alcohol to cope with their pain. Martha Bebinger Reporter, Health P.S.— Our newsletter team came up with an idea: a politics newsletter for people who maybe wouldn’t normally sign up for a politics newsletter. Hear us out. From the busy end of the Massachusetts legislative session through the high-stakes fall elections, this Monday afternoon newsletter will keep you informed — without the jargon or the horse-race coverage — on the political moves that matter most (and, dare we say, have some fun in the process.) [Sign up here.]( Support the news  This Week's Must Reads [U.S. drug deaths declined slightly in 2023 but remained at crisis levels]( Powerful synthetic opioids and drugs like meth and cocaine still flood U.S. communities, fueling historically high overdose deaths. [Read more.]( [U.S. drug deaths declined slightly in 2023 but remained at crisis levels]( Powerful synthetic opioids and drugs like meth and cocaine still flood U.S. communities, fueling historically high overdose deaths. [Read more.]( [Louisiana may reclassify drugs used in abortion as controlled dangerous substances]( Louisiana could be the first state to regulate mifepristone and misoprostol in the same way as some narcotics and stimulants. Opponents predict harmful delays in miscarriage and other lawful uses. [Read more.]( [Louisiana may reclassify drugs used in abortion as controlled dangerous substances]( Louisiana could be the first state to regulate mifepristone and misoprostol in the same way as some narcotics and stimulants. Opponents predict harmful delays in miscarriage and other lawful uses. [Read more.]( [Lots of drug companies talk about putting patients first — but this one actually did]( When Cambridge-based Amylyx Pharmaceuticals found out its ALS drug Relyvrio didn’t work, the company took the unusual step of voluntarily pulling it off the market. [Read more.]( [Lots of drug companies talk about putting patients first — but this one actually did]( When Cambridge-based Amylyx Pharmaceuticals found out its ALS drug Relyvrio didn’t work, the company took the unusual step of voluntarily pulling it off the market. [Read more.]( [A look at what could be the future for postpartum care in America]( Postpartum care in America leaves most facing a critical and often overlooked "fourth trimester" in isolation. Metro Detroit-based Fourth Tri Sanctuary offers support. [Read more.]( [A look at what could be the future for postpartum care in America]( Postpartum care in America leaves most facing a critical and often overlooked "fourth trimester" in isolation. Metro Detroit-based Fourth Tri Sanctuary offers support. [Read more.]( [Mass. health leaders are starting to see the effects of Steward's bankruptcy]( State health officials sought to assure health care leaders they are working to preserve care at Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals. But some hospital leaders expressed concerns about the ripple effects already becoming evident at their facilities. [Read more.]( [Mass. health leaders are starting to see the effects of Steward's bankruptcy]( State health officials sought to assure health care leaders they are working to preserve care at Steward’s Massachusetts hospitals. But some hospital leaders expressed concerns about the ripple effects already becoming evident at their facilities. [Read more.]( What We're Reading 📚 - Wait times go down. Patient satisfaction goes up. What’s the matter with letting apps and AI run the ER? ([Los Angeles Times]( - The US food industry has long buried the truth about their products. Is that coming to an end? ([The Guardian]( - Removing race adjustment from lung test could mean higher disability payments for Black vets ([STAT]( Your Health [Other countries have better sunscreens. Here's why we can't get them in the U.S.]( Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. and we need all the protection we can get. So why is it so hard to get newer, more effective ingredients approved here? [Read more.]( [Other countries have better sunscreens. Here's why we can't get them in the U.S.]( Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. and we need all the protection we can get. So why is it so hard to get newer, more effective ingredients approved here? [Read more.]( 🧠💥 Did you know...💥🧠 …fast food has the some of the highest levels of plasticizers, the chemicals that make plastic more flexible? Consumer Reports found these chemicals — which have been linked to a range of health concerns — are widespread in packaged and processed food. [The publication provided tips]( on how to limit your exposure. 😎 Forward to a friend. 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