Opioid Use in Pregnant Women and the Increase in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

Abstract

The costs associated with treating newborns with NAS are exponentially higher than the costs associated with newborns not affected with NAS. The societal costs associated with treatment of newborns with NAS, as well as infant symptomatology experienced with NAS, can be reduced by encouraging physicians to be proactive in screening for drug use, urging women who use chronic opioids to actively engage in family planning and contraception, and encouraging pregnant women who use opioids to seek substance treatment.

Breastfeeding support and opiate dependence: A think aloud study

“…It was very clear from the findings that substance dependent mothers considered the attitudes of practitioners as important, if not more important, than their actions. This substantiated research by Pritham (2013) and Roussos-Ross et al (2015) which cited discriminatory attitudes towards substance dependent mothers as instrumental in increasing breastfeeding attrition rates.…”

The Epidemiology of Drug Abuse

“…Other risky behaviors associated with impaired judgment can include sharing of drug paraphernalia, impulsive and erratic use patterns, and unprotected sex. Substance use during pregnancy can result in health effects to the baby, such as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and neonatal abstinence syndrome, which has increased in proportion to the opioid epidemic 20 …”

Prenatal Opioid Exposure and ADHD Childhood Symptoms: A Meta-Analysis

“…Consequently, there has been a five-fold increase in NAS within the last two decades [3]. Infants with NAS burden the healthcare system, with longer length of hospital stay and increased costs [10]. Pregnant women with opioid dependency represent a vulnerable group of women who have a history of family socioeconomic adversity, child custody loss, and many psychiatric, social, and obstetric needs [11,12].…”