Skip to main content

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome can be treated by Non-Pharmacologic Approaches

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome can be treated by Non-Pharmacologic Approaches


Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) refers to a group of problems that occurs to newborns who were exposed to addictive drugs (amphetamines, cocaine, nicotine, marijuana) while in the mother's womb. To improve the outcomes for infants with Neonatal abstinence syndrome some non-pharmacological approaches have been focused. The use of non-pharmacologic approaches not only showed positive outcomes for infants and mother but also it showed a decrease in the use of medications. This approach also decreased the length of stay at the hospital and the hospital cost.

In today’s generation the use of addictive drugs by adults is increasing due to various reasons and as a result, the rate of infants born exposed to these drugs developing NAS Symptoms is also increasing. These infants had to stay in hospitals for around one month. Finnegan Scale is used to evaluate NAS symptoms and that score is used to determine when to treat with medication which is usually in the form of morphine. However recently new approaches involving non-pharmacologic treatments like breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact have shown to improve the symptoms of NAS and also the behaviour prioritizing assessment tools such as how well an infant is sleeping and eating has reduced the number of infants receiving the medication treatment compared to Finnegan Scale.

Experiment was done to see the effectiveness of this non-pharmacologic approach. This experiment included parental presence near the infant’s bed, breastfeeding, and skin to skin contact as the first line of treatment. Educations about the importance of the presence and contact with their infants were provided to the parents. Infants were kept in pediatrics inpatient room along with the bed for parents. Also, a cuddling volunteer program supplemented parents' presence, which allowed the infant to be held in the absence of parents. Additionally, morphine was replaced with methadone for the infants who required medication.

The result of this approach was quite impressive. This approach decreased the need to treat the infant with medication by around 50%. The length of hospital stay and hospital charges also decreased. This approach can be successfully implemented in the hospitals to improve maternal health as well as infant’s health and also to reduce the healthcare cost.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understand Maternal Obesity Before You Regret.

Understand Maternal Obesity Before You Regret. Obesity is the root cause of many diseases and it is the major health issue for the public. It has been linked to several health problems such as cancer , heart diseases , hypertension,  etc. It also has an adverse effect during pregnancy as it can cause complications in pregnancy by increasing the mother's risk of having gestational diabetes , preterm birth , preeclampsia or baby with birth defects.  Maternal obesity is related to many severe outcomes for the infant , which can persist into adulthood such as heart disease, mortality and type-2 diabetes . Maternal obesity also compromises the  immune system of babies. Researches have proven that pre-pregnancy maternal weight plays a significant role in the neonate's immune system. The immune system of the babies born to obese mothers gets comprised very early in baby’s life. The researchers analyzed the umbilical cord blood sample of babies born to moth
Post a Comment
Read more

Gestation Alters Maternal Gut Microbiota

Gestation Alters Maternal Gut Microbiota Millions of bacteria are living inside and on our body weighing around four pounds of our body weight. These bacteria are very useful and important in health and in fighting disease. These microbiomes are altered during gestation . It was seen that during pregnancy microbiomes are responsible for partial weight gain and some essential inflammatory responses . But the mechanism responsible for such changes is still unknown. Several studies have been done to see the changes in bacteria with progression in pregnancy . Recently in one of the studies, it was found that during pregnancy progesterone regulates the microbial composition of bacteria in such a way that may help the baby develop. It was found that as the pregnancy progressed there was a dramatic change in the composition of bacteria mostly during late pregnancy along with the increase in the relative abundance of Bifidobacterium . These bacteria metabolize the
1 comment
Read more

Be sure to know more about Hypoplastic Left Heart Disorder (HLHS)

Be sure to know more about Hypoplastic Left Heart Disorder (HLHS) At the point when a child is determined to have basic aortic stenosis that is in danger for advancing to hypoplastic left heart disorder (HLHS) in utero. Hypoplastic left heart disorder (HLHS) is an intricate and uncommon heart imperfection present during childbirth in which the left half of a tyke's heart is seriously immature. The doctors can play out a method called fetal aortic valvuloplasty . The method utilizes a needle and a minor inflatable to develop the tight aortic valve to build blood course through the left half of the fetal heart , which will prompt improved left heart work and advance typical left-sided heart development. On the off chance that untreated, basic aortic stenosis and HLHS can be deadly. By playing out this system before birth, it can advance improved development of the left-sided heart structures and lead to less medical procedures after birth. Atrial septal
Post a Comment
Read more