Treatment of newborn narcotic withdrawal
Authors
Durgin, Hannah
Description
This project explores the alternate treatments to increase the outcomes of newborns experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The project reviews five published articles on the treatment of NAS. A common treatment of NAS is the administration of morphine to help the newborn manage the withdrawal. The literature review was intended to find if a non-pharmalogical treatment could offer better outcomes for the newborn. The findings found that the lasting effects of being exposed to opioids or methadone in utero is unknown due to small sample sizes and environmental factors. The research was unable to identify the lasting effects of using morphine and other drugs to treat NAS. In conclusion, research found that the modified approach referred to "Eat, Sleep, Console," had incredible outcomes when used to treat newborns with NAS. Eat, Sleep, Console is a method of treatment that focuses on treating the newborn like a newborn. Feed them when they are hungry, cuddle them so they can sleep, and console them when they cry. It also focuses on treating the parents as parents and reducing the stigma of them being an addict to encourage them to still be a parent.