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As the number of drug overdose in the United States has grown expansively, it has become a major concern not only for the people affected directly, but also for the entire nation as a whole. However, amidst the debate on this issue, an entire group entirely affected is often neglected or not even thought of. This group consists of the babies born from mothers who are drug addicts.
These “drug” babies as they are often referred to suffer withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. For the purposes of this paper, I would like to take a moment to focus on that group. I will explain what it is, discuss its impacts, and also how they develop certain disabilities in order to raise awareness about neonatal …show more content…
Stanford Children’s Health goes on to list some of the common withdrawal symptoms in full term babies which include: trembling, excessive crying, poor feeding and sucking, fever or unstable temperature, hyperactive reflexes, [and] tight muscle tone (Stanford Children’s Health). These symptoms usually start to appear 1 to 3 days after the child is born. As a result, these babies have to stay in the hospital longer than usual in order to be monitored and observed which can last up to a week. Preterm babies; however, have a lower chance of experiencing withdrawal symptoms and therefore, are at a lower risk.
Now that we have seen what neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is and its resulting symptoms and signs, let us now look at how it is diagnosed. Because many of the symptoms associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome can be the cause of other conditions, the mother of the child is usually asked questions related to her drug use in order to help make a
more accurate diagnosis. Some of the questions which they might ask the mother might include which drugs did she take while pregnant and how often she did so. In addition, medical professionals might conduct a urine test to test for drugs.
The medical encyclopedia Medline Plus explains further how neonatal abstinence syndrome is diagnosed by stating the following:
Tests that may be done to help diagnose withdrawal in a newborn
As the number of drug overdose in the United States has grown expansively, it has become a major concern not only for the people affected directly, but also for the entire nation as a whole. However, amidst the debate on this issue, an entire group entirely affected is often neglected or not even thought of. This group consists of the babies born from mothers who are drug addicts.
These “drug” babies as they are often referred to suffer withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome. For the purposes of this paper, I would like to take a moment to focus on that group. I will explain what it is, discuss its impacts, and also how they develop certain disabilities in order to raise awareness about neonatal …show more content…
Stanford Children’s Health goes on to list some of the common withdrawal symptoms in full term babies which include: trembling, excessive crying, poor feeding and sucking, fever or unstable temperature, hyperactive reflexes, [and] tight muscle tone (Stanford Children’s Health). These symptoms usually start to appear 1 to 3 days after the child is born. As a result, these babies have to stay in the hospital longer than usual in order to be monitored and observed which can last up to a week. Preterm babies; however, have a lower chance of experiencing withdrawal symptoms and therefore, are at a lower risk.
Now that we have seen what neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is and its resulting symptoms and signs, let us now look at how it is diagnosed. Because many of the symptoms associated with neonatal abstinence syndrome can be the cause of other conditions, the mother of the child is usually asked questions related to her drug use in order to help make a
more accurate diagnosis. Some of the questions which they might ask the mother might include which drugs did she take while pregnant and how often she did so. In addition, medical professionals might conduct a urine test to test for drugs.
The medical encyclopedia Medline Plus explains further how neonatal abstinence syndrome is diagnosed by stating the following:
Tests that may be done to help diagnose withdrawal in a newborn