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Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a series of health issues that arises in a newborn when their mother abused opioids while they were in the womb, rose fivefold in the US from 2000 to 2012. And in 2012 alone, one infant was born with NAS every 25 minutes. It's no surprise that it’s largely due to America’s current opioid crisis.
Drugs that are abused during pregnancy, which can include heroin, the synthetic opioid fentanyl, and prescription pain relievers like codeine, oxycodone, methadone and others, pass to the baby through the placenta, the organ that provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing fetus. The baby can actually become addicted to whatever drug their mother was taking.
Expectant mothers who use these types of drugs up until delivery increase the risk of dependency in their child at birth. “After delivery, the baby is basically deprived of the opiates that he or she had been receiving in utero,” says Bill Trawick, NP, of Alaska Regional Hospital in Anchorage, Alaska, who specializes in neonatal-perinatal medicine. Since the baby is not receiving the drug, withdrawal symptoms are likely as the drug clears out of their system. These can include nursing and feeding issues, digestive problems and even more serious conditions like seizures.
Exposure to drugs during pregnancy is a serious problem, one that all hopeful parents and pregnant couples should be aware of. Here are some important things to know, including the types of complications that arise for newborns with NAS, how much the syndrome affects the cost of having a child, what doctors and hospitals can do to help and how to pursue alternatives to drugs when pregnant.
