Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a growing concern within the United States. This paper discusses what NAS is and the effects it has on the newborn infant. If first discusses the incidence of NAS as regard to maternal age, race, and ethnicity. It explains the types of drugs most commonly associated with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. However, I have excluded alcohol from this paper because it results in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. This paper will then explain the types of physical symptoms associated with NAS for the full-term and premature infant. It discusses the different classes of drugs and the unique symptoms newborns experience with each. Furthermore, it discusses the long-term cognitive and behavioral effects that newborns can experience as they grow. In addition, this paper discusses how Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is diagnosed and the how the Finnegan neonatal scoring system is used to help physicians determine the severity of NAS in each newborn. Lastly, this paper explains the treatment for NAS and the important roles of the nurse when caring for a newborn with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a group of problems a newborn experiences when exposed to addictive drugs that the mother consumes during pregnancy. NAS is a growing concern in the United States and can have significant adverse effects on newborns. Shortly after birth the infant can display many physical symptoms of withdrawal. In addition, substance abuse during pregnancy can cause premature birth, low birth weight, seizures, birth defects, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and possible long-term cognitive and behavioral problems.
The 2010 results from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary o...
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...Midwifery, 16(4), 220-223
Neonatal abstinence syndrome. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004566/
Neonatal abstinence syndrome. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/hrnewborn/nas.html
Neonatal abstinence syndrome. (2012a). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007313.htm
Neonatal abstinence syndrome. (2012b). Retrieved from
http://www.yalemedicalgroup.org/stw/Page.asp?PageID=STW026750
Results from the 2010 national survey on drug use and health: summary of national findings. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k10NSDUH/2k10Results.htm
Zimmermann-Baer, U., Nötzli, U., Rentsch, K., & Bucher, H. U. (2010). Finnegan neonatal abstinence scoring system: normal values for first 3 days and weeks 5-6 in non-addicted infants. Addiction, 105(3), 524-528.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Adminstration. (2009). Results from the 2008 national survey on drug use and health: National findings. Rockville, MD: Author.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA Publication on Drug Abuse. Web-based Statistics Query and Reporting System (WSQARS): www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/nation-wide-trends. Web. 10 April 2014.
Although not every child born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome was intentionally put at risk by the mother, it is understandable that the law should conduct more tests to determine the mother’s outcome. If a child is born with NAS and his or her toxic screen came back positive for a drug, the mother should face a penalty. Doctors should have the right to inform the mother of the consequences the child might face if she takes some drugs even if they are prescribed by a doctor. Then the mother should make her own decision regarding her drug consumption. One can conclude that NAS is a form of child abuse and that there are serious consequences for it that include the loss of all parental rights to the child and even a prison term depending on how severe the child’s symptoms are.
Drug and alcohol use in pregnancy poses a threat to the neonate’s development and the obstetric provider has an obligation to screen for substance use. Substance use in pregnancy can place the developing fetus at risk for in-utero opioid dependence, fetal-alcohol syndrome, preterm labor, and other consequences of maternal alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use.(6) Within the past three years La Crosse County has seen a marked increase in the amount of heroin use.(7)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2011). National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings [Data File]. Available From http://www.samhsa.gov/data/NSDUH/2k11Results/NSDUHresults2011.htm
Substance abuse during pregnancy can have a negative force on the health and wellness of not only the fetus, but that of the mother. The harmful effects of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs on an unborn child can be devastating and can have significant consequences to its use. Sometimes the effects can be faced and treated, and other times the outcome is a lifelong challenge. During the prenatal period, it is important that new mothers are informed of the different types of abuse, how they may affect the fetus, and the adverse conditions their child may be faced with before and after birth.
Signs of withdrawal in a NAS baby usually begin between 24 and 48 hours of life, but the sigs of withdrawal peak between 34 and 50 hours of life. Symptoms of withdrawal include crying excessively at a notably high pitch, sleepiness, hyperactive reflexes, tremors, increased muscle tone, excoriation, sweating, fever, mottling, nasal stuffiness and flaring, tachypnea, poor feeding, regurgitation, projectile vomiting, and seizures. Withdrawal is managed first nonpharmicologically (reduce external stimuli- dim lighting, quiet, tight swaddling), then with opioids until the baby is stable enough to begin to be tapered off of the opioids. The course of withdrawal can take anywhere between 4-6 weeks. A lot of information was concluded about the behavior and cognitive abilities being at risk in children of NAS than those without. However self esteem was not apparent in the
Substance abuse is a problem that exist all over the world, it’s affecting men, women, and children from all society level. Prenatal substance abuse remains a major problem in the United States and poses important health risk for a growing baby (Behnke & Smith, 2013). Treatment 4 addiction (T4a) mentioned approximately 2 to 3% of birth deficiency are the consequences of using other drugs than alcohol. Drug and alcohol or any other substances are recognized to have dangerous effect on the fetus. All drugs that that cross the placenta have somehow affected the fetus (Behnke & Smith, 2013).
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2011). Results from the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Summary of National Findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are identified as a category of birth disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. These can include physical or intellectual anomalies, such as cardiac, skeletal, visual, aural, and fine or gross motor problems. (Callanan, 2013) Prevention would involve alcohol use prevention programs for women who are pregnant, and treatment for FAS and FASD would be aimed at helping those affected realize their full potential through both family and individual interventions. While there is no cure for FAS or FASD, appropriate treatments can aide individuals with these diagnoses to minimize the effects.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” A child has most likely heard that phrase at some point in their life. Although, it is not ethical or legal for a mother to “take her kid out of this world”, it does bring up a good point that it was through her body, that the child was born. One of the most important responsibilities in this world is a mother carrying a child in the womb. There are many divine processes that take place during gestation, but there are also many contributing factors from the mother that can affect the developing human. These factors may include what a woman ingests and exposes her embryo or fetus to. Sadly, alcohol use during pregnancy is an ongoing problem that can have detrimental affects on the fetus, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Choosing to drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is a choice, a risky choice. Unfortunately some women don’t even know they are making a risky choice by consuming alcohol because it is in the early stages of pregnancy. It is common for a female to not find out they are pregnant until at least the fifth or sixth week after fertilization. In 2006, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were reported unintended on a national survey.1 The highest rate of preventable birth defects and mental retardation is due to alcohol use.2 In this paper, I will further discuss FAS, the potential effects of binge drinking during the embryonic stage of gestation, and what actions need to be taken in order to reduce the incidences of alcohol related birth defects.
If we don’t fix this now it might be the next crack baby epidemic ( Brochu). Babies in this condition are so sensitive. Like crack babies or those born with fetal alcohol syndrome, infants diagnosed with “neonatal abstinence syndrome” exhibit dangerous signs of withdrawal: jitters, trouble feeding and putting on weight, diarrhea, respiratory problems. They are so sensitive to light and noise, their cribs or incubators have to be covered with blankets. To wean them off the drugs, they’re fed morphine or methadone. Even after the typical three-month recovery process, many face developmental delays and health implications from premature birth (Brochu). In the last 5 years the drug addicted baby rate has gone up 5 times the
Wisborg, K., Kesmodel, U., Tine, B. H., Sjurdur, F. O., & Secher, N. J. (2000). A prospective study of smoking during pregnancy and SIDS. Archives of Disease in Childhood, 83(3), 203-6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/196895386?accountid=41057
This essay covers information over the course of prenatal development. I will also discuss teratology and hazards to the prenatal development, those such as, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and opioids. Additionally, I will discuss how maternal factors such as maternal diet and nutrition, maternal age, emotional states and stress, and paternal factors, may influence prenatal development.
Office of the National Drug Control Policy. "National Survey on Drug Use and Health." May 2008. Print. 26 March 2014.