The opioid crisis surged in recent years, and New England has been hit particularly hard. Infants exposed to opioids in the womb can develop neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), with symptoms including tremors, stiff muscles, upset stomach, excessive crying, and problems with sleeping and feeding. Historically, treatment of these infants involves a nurse measuring a baby’s withdrawal symptoms — such as level of irritability, pitch of crying, fever, or tremors — and often providing opioid medications, including morphine and methadone, as part of their care. Many of these infants experience long hospital stays to help them manage their withdrawal symptoms.
New research led by Leslie Young, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at UVM’s Larner College of Medicine, demonstrates that the “Eat, Sleep, Console” care approach (ESC), which uses a function-based assessment of withdrawal severity and emphasizes parent involvement, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding, rocking, and a calm environment, is more effective than usual care approaches for treating infants exposed to opioids in the womb. The current findings are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.