Withdrawal symptoms in a newborn

Withdrawal symptoms in a newborn
Withdrawal symptoms in a newborn are common with opiates, including
methadone use, and include high-pitched cry, irritability, hypertonicity and
hyperflexia. Cocaine use has been associated with neonatal irritability, nasal
snuffiness, jitteriness, tremor, fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, fist sucking, yawning
and tachycardia.
Substance-abusing mothers are more likely to have an infant with perinatalproblems and to experience birth complications. Early separations are common
in cases of neonatal withdrawal and influence the parents’ developing
relationship with the infant. Infants affected by in-utero substances may be
irritable, ‘jittery’ and deregulated, presenting a challenge to the drug-using
parents. A parent in this situation may be intolerant of distress in his infant,
anxious or even avoidant. The capacity of the drug-using parent to respond
sensitively to the infant will be important in determining the quality of the
attachment relationship. The degree to which the parent remains involved in
drug use is also important in the developing relationship.