Schumer: More babies born addicted to drugs

NEW YORK (AP) - Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the Federal Drug Administration to change prescription drug labels to clearly warn pregnant women of the dangers to their unborn babies.

Schumer was joined by New York doctors on Sunday to call for a nationwide plan to combat the trend of babies being born addicted to prescription drugs or other opiates.

He says the number of babies born addicted to painkillers and other opiates has nearly tripled in the past decade, with prescription drugs fueling the increase.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last month, approximately 3.4 of every 1,000 infants born in 2009 suffered from painkiller addiction.