Caring For Drug Addicted Babies

Due to an explosion in the number of infants born addicted to drugs because of their mother s use while pregnant pediatricians and hospitals have been given updated guidelines for identifying monitoring and treating newborns exposed to painkillers and other drugs in the womb.

Caring for drug addicted babies.

Gently rocking the baby. Narcotics vicodin percocet and oxycontin. Babies who are born addicted to drugs recovery first treatment center. Provide a quiet.

Non medical care for recovering infants. Nutrition breast feeding by an addicted mom is not suggested. Babies who are born addicted to drugs face a life long struggle because of parental drug abuse or alcohol abuse. Give the infant a pacifier.

Different types of treatment that may help the baby include. The breast milk of a using mother contains highly. Kangaroo care keeping the room quiet and the lights dim. Use bottles that prevent air from entering the stomach.

Prescription medications that can cause withdrawal include but are not limited to. It s also advisable to use soft quiet voices and move calmly from one activity to another. At birth the baby s dependence on the substance continues but since the drug is no longer available the baby s central nervous system becomes overstimulated causing symptoms of withdrawal. Brown s bottles are designed for this.

The american academy of pediatrics aap guidelines are a response to what the group calls an alarming increase in addicted newborns. Swaddling the baby in a blanket may help give comfort to an irritable baby. By offering care and love to a drug exposed baby you can restore hope to this newborn life.