U.S. counties with high opioid prescription rates had 1.5 times as many babies born with gastroschisis, a serious birth defect of the abdominal wall, compared with counties with low opioid prescription rates, according to research published in MMWR.

“This report is a signal for further research into the entire scope of outcomes after in utero exposure to opioids, including birth defects, [neonatal abstinence syndrome], but also longer term outcomes,” Jennita Reefhuis, PhD, chief of the Birth Defects Branch of the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, told Infectious Diseases in Children.