There has been some association with increased rate of NAS and longer hospital stay in infants born to mothers with poly-drug use. There is also a correlation between a higher methadone use and decrease amount of poly-drug use which suggests a higher dose of methadone reduces poly-drug use and side effects to the infant. In this study the woman were provided with substitute therapy of methadone and social work services. Standard methadone treatment is to prescribe enough methadone to eliminate physical withdrawal symptoms. NAS was defined as those infants with severe enough signs to require pharmacological interventions. The study included 450 infants and data was collected on 437 (Dryden, et al., 2009). Of the infants in the study, 45.5% of received pharmacological treatment for NAS (Dryden, et al., 2009). Duration of oral morphine was from 1-44 days Dryden, et al., 2009). Half were discharged to home on Phenobarbital and therapy ranged from 2-140 days (Dryden, et.al. 2009). As high as 93% of infants requiring Phenobarbital were exposed to poly-drug use in utero (Dryden, et al., 2009) . Breastfeeding was initiated in 27.7% of these infants and 48.8% of these infants were admitted to the NICU (Dryden, et. al., 2009). Stay ranged from 1-108 days and 40% of these were admitted due to NAS (Dryden, et. al., 2009). Breastfeeding for greater than 48 hours was independently associated with halving the odds of the infant receiving pharmacological treatment for NAS. The act of breastfeeding soothes agitated infants and drugs taken by the mother are excreted in varying amounts in breast milk which reduces the effects of withdrawal. The average rate of drug using mothers who breastfeed is 35% by day 5 (Dryden, et. al., 2009). It is the impression of this study that the majority of drug-misusing mothers, who do not choose to breastfeed, do so because of deeply engrained social prejudice and not because of poly-drug misuse. It is recommended that all mothers be encouraged to breastfeed their infants and rooming in helps to facilitate this.
There has been some association with increased rate of NAS and longer hospital stay in infants born to mothers with poly-drug use. There is also a correlation between a higher methadone use and decrease amount of poly-drug use which suggests a higher dose of methadone reduces poly-drug use and side effects to the infant. In this study the woman were provided with substitute therapy of methadone and social work services. Standard methadone treatment is to prescribe enough methadone to eliminate physical withdrawal symptoms. NAS was defined as those infants with severe enough signs to require pharmacological interventions. The study included 450 infants and data was collected on 437 (Dryden, et al., 2009). Of the infants in the study, 45.5% of received pharmacological treatment for NAS (Dryden, et al., 2009). Duration of oral morphine was from 1-44 days Dryden, et al., 2009). Half were discharged to home on Phenobarbital and therapy ranged from 2-140 days (Dryden, et.al. 2009). As high as 93% of infants requiring Phenobarbital were exposed to poly-drug use in utero (Dryden, et al., 2009) . Breastfeeding was initiated in 27.7% of these infants and 48.8% of these infants were admitted to the NICU (Dryden, et. al., 2009). Stay ranged from 1-108 days and 40% of these were admitted due to NAS (Dryden, et. al., 2009). Breastfeeding for greater than 48 hours was independently associated with halving the odds of the infant receiving pharmacological treatment for NAS. The act of breastfeeding soothes agitated infants and drugs taken by the mother are excreted in varying amounts in breast milk which reduces the effects of withdrawal. The average rate of drug using mothers who breastfeed is 35% by day 5 (Dryden, et. al., 2009). It is the impression of this study that the majority of drug-misusing mothers, who do not choose to breastfeed, do so because of deeply engrained social prejudice and not because of poly-drug misuse. It is recommended that all mothers be encouraged to breastfeed their infants and rooming in helps to facilitate this.
nursing_treastment_of_neonatal_abstinence_syndrome_paper.docx