experience with drug addicted babies

[Mammy55]

Can I please ask for your experience with babies born addicted. Can I ask what substance it was and weather they needed medication to help them? Do you have any advice to help them or what it is like working in nicu with these babies. Is it quite common? And what is the most used substance?

Just to be clear it’s not me who is pregnant or with a baby withdrawing or anything like that. I’m looking to get into Working with ladies going through this and I want to have an idea of what I’ll be seeing, thank you

There's a thread in classics where a mumsnetter fostered (I think) a baby in that situation...maybe have a read of that.

I have worked with a few babies withdrawing from heroin and it’s very sad. They were very twitchy and jumpy, cried a lot with a high pitched cry and had poor quality skin. They received medication which helped. The mums have been in pretty bad shape and often the babies are brought into care if the using has been happening recently enough for baby to be born withdrawing.

I sincerely hope you’d be given proper training and support about what to expect - and especially the “advice on how to help” bit from your employer!

This seems very detailed:

www.clinicalguidelines.scot.nhs.uk/nhsggc-paediatric-clinical-guidelines/nhsggc-guidelines/neonatology/neonatal-abstinence-syndrome-nas/

I’ve read that (and cried a lot) what a wonderful woman. It was 11 years ago now I wondered if anyone had any recent knowledge have things changed? Or past experience. I presume Mn has grown a lot in that time and maybe a lot haven’t seen the thread in classics.