| With the rise in use of heroin and other opiates across the nation, and the appearance of methadone clinics that try to wean users of such drugs, more and more women are getting pregnant while still in the throes of their addiction. This is leading to more infants being born addicted to the very drugs their mother ingested during pregnancy. Drug withdrawal of neonatal infants has become a long and costly process for hospitals. This study compared the use of Methadone, Phenobarbital, and Morphine Sulfate to treat narcotic addicted infants born with a diagnosis of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. The sample for this study was 99 infants born to mothers who used narcotics during pregnancy and was diagnosed with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome within 24 hours of birth. A retrospective, chart review was used to collect the data for this quantitative study. |
