Newborn Withdrawal (Neonatal Abstinence Syndromes)
Patients who get pregnant when they are taking dependent on high-dose opioids put their unborn baby in jeopardy of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or newborn withdrawal. In essence, NAS happens because unborn babies are exposed to pain medications, or other drugs as well, and become dependent on the drugs before they are even born, putting them into withdrawal as soon as they are born. These babies may deliver prematurely and suffer with low birth weight. They also often face protracted stays in the neonatal intensive care unit. Nurses who work with these infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) tell me these can be the hardest babies to take care of, being inconsolable and needing a lot of care and attention, often staying for weeks.
Patients who get pregnant when they are taking dependent on high-dose opioids put their unborn baby in jeopardy of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) or newborn withdrawal. In essence, NAS happens because unborn babies are exposed to pain medications, or other drugs as well, and become dependent on the drugs before they are even born, putting them into withdrawal as soon as they are born. These babies may deliver prematurely and suffer with low birth weight. They also often face protracted stays in the neonatal intensive care unit. Nurses who work with these infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) tell me these can be the hardest babies to take care of, being inconsolable and needing a lot of care and attention, often staying for weeks.
|
|