Newborn withdrawal syndrome or neonatal withdrawal syndrome It is a set of problems that occur in a newborn who has been exposed to alcohol and addictive drugs during pregnancy. As substances reach the fetus through the placenta, it "gets used" to them and becomes addicted to them.
That is why at birth, when the drug is no longer received from the mother's body, the baby suffers various consequences of its dependence, which will depend on several factors, such as the type of drug the mother consumes, the amount of substance to which she has been exposed , if it is premature or not ...
For a baby with withdrawal syndrome, symptoms usually begin between one and three days after birth; Sometimes it may take up to a week to appear.
Symptoms of newborn withdrawal syndrome They can include: coloration in skin spots, diarrhea, excessive crying or howling, irritability, excessive sucking, fever, overactive reflexes, increased muscle tone, poor diet, rapid breathing ...
It can also cause seizures and tremors, as we saw recently in this stunning video, sleep problems, slow weight gain, nose plugging, sneezing, sweating, vomiting ...
In short, these are symptoms that we can imagine in an adult who "has the monkey", as is commonly said, but difficult to imagine and understand in a helpless baby. In addition, the effects of drugs during pregnancy can be long term for the child, so we are not talking about a syndrome that is cured with treatment and that's it.
In fact, if the medical team confirms that a newborn shows withdrawal syndrome, will act in different ways depending on the case: it may be necessary to hydrate the baby, if the symptoms are severe, medications such as methadone and morphine may be necessary ...
All trying to calm a baby who is probably not calm and does not feed properly. Breastfeeding is the best, and if the mother continues to take drugs she will go to the milk banks whenever possible. Withdrawal can last one week at best and up to six months at worst.
But surely the worst is that these babies have other serious effects derived from the consumption of drugs or alcohol by the mother, sequels that sometimes do not heal such as congenital defects, small head circumference, sudden infant death syndrome, developmental and behavioral problems ...
For prevent newborn withdrawal syndrome the future mother should avoid the use of drugs and over-the-counter medications, ask for help if she is in that case and abandon bad habits sooner, as soon as the possibility of getting pregnant is raised.
