Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of complications that occur when a newborn is exposed to addictive drugs while in the mother’s womb. NAS is an increasing problem in the United States that many people are unaware of with a rise of 4.4% in 2013. It is important to understand that NAS not only affects the infant, but it affects the mother as well. Both the infant and mother can develop a wide range of symptoms ranging from mild to severe. Some of these symptoms include neurological, gastrointestinal, and autonomic disorders. Early identification of symptoms is vital to ensure that both the infant and mother receives the best care possible. Another important thing to recognize about NAS is the American …show more content…
The University of Iowa Children’s Hospital (2013) produced the pamphlet “Identifying Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Treatment Guidelines” to inform the general population about NAS. The pamphlet listed some of the most common drugs including barbiturates, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, opioids, sedatives, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The pamphlet also discussed the general symptoms of NAS and it broke them down into three categories. The first category was neurological symptoms which included irritability, increased wakefulness, high-pitched cry, increased muscle tone, frequent yawning, sneezing, and seizures. When I read these symptoms I was quite surprised that some of them were things such as frequent yawning and sneezing. I assumed that all of the symptoms were going to be traumatic and cause great harm to the infant, however, sneezing and frequent yawning seem to be minor symptoms. The second category was gastrointestinal symptoms which included vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, poor weight gain, poor feeding habits, and uncoordinated and constant sucking (University of Iowa Children’s Hospital, 2013). When I read these symptoms the uncoordinated and constant sucking symptom caught my attention. I had previously learned in an anatomy class that this symptom can cause major complications for the infant because the infant may not …show more content…
Some of the protocols must be done as an inpatient in a hospital. One inpatient protocol is giving the infant medication that is similar to the type of drug they are addicted to. This allows the infant to slowly ween off the drug rather than stopping it suddenly. Another inpatient protocol is giving the infant intravenous therapy (IV). If the infant is experiencing symptoms such as excessive vomiting and diarrhea he or she may need IV therapy to prevent dehydration. The last inpatient protocol is giving the infant special baby formula that contains an excessive amount of calories. This ensures that the baby is getting enough calories needed to grow properly. Just as there are inpatient protocols there are also protocols that can be done at home. One common protocol that can be used at home is swaddling the infant in a blanket to sooth and provide comfort. Another at home protocol is giving the baby skin-to-skin contact by only placing a diaper on the infant and holding it close to the mothers’ bare skin. This also sooths and comforts the baby to reduce crying. Other protocols include keeping your baby in a quiet, dimly lit room and breastfeeding your baby. Most of these protocols made sense to me, however, I did not know how breastfeeding could help the infant. I did some further research on breastfeeding and found a pamphlet that explained the importance to