Impact of Prenatal Exposure to Opioids and Opioid-Use Treatment Medications

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Are you considering adopting or fostering a child who was exposed prenatally to opioids or opioid-use treatment medication, such as Buprenorphine, methadone, and Suboxone? Are you a grandparent or aunt raising a child who was exposed? Join our discussion with Dr. Jennifer McAllister, the Medical Director of the NOWS Follow-Up Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Medical Director of the University of Cincinnati Newborn Nursery.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Terminology: What is the difference between opiates and opioids?
• What are the most common opioids being abused?
• What are the common treatment medications/drugs given to those with opioid use disorder? What are the brand names for these medications?
• How do these medications work?
• Are substance-use medications safe to use during pregnancy?
• What are the short- and long-term impacts on infants exposed to opioids?
• What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to opioid-use medications in pregnancy? Do the impacts differ?
• Does the dosage of opioid-use medications change the impact they have on the baby?
• What are the short- and long-term impacts of infants exposed to fentanyl in pregnancy?
• Is there a safer time for a fetus to be exposed to opioids or opioid-use medications in utero?
• Is it true that if the child is not born experiencing signs of withdrawal or with drugs in their system, the prognosis is better? Or conversely, if the child is born dependent and has to go through withdrawals, they will suffer more impact from in-utero drug exposure?
• How dangerous is drug dependency and withdrawal for the infant?
• How are Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) treated in babies?
• If a mom is taking opioid-use medications during her pregnancy, is it recommended that she breastfeed the infant to help with withdrawal? 
• How long does withdrawal in an infant born dependent last?
• How do you foster attachment while the baby is experiencing withdrawal?
• You often hear that “early intervention is key” and that a baby’s brain can be rewired during the first couple of years with the right treatments or therapy. What exactly does that therapy entail? What strategies should you be using at home with your child with a diagnosis of prenatal drug exposure?
• When a child has drug exposure and trauma, is it possible to tell the difference in what is causing specific problems, and is the treatment different depending on the cause?
• Are children who are exposed prenatally to any drug, but specifically to opioids, at a greater risk for substance abuse disorder as teens and adults if they were adopted and not raised in an environment that exposed them to drug use?
• What are the most common blood-borne diseases that women who have IV drug use?
• What is the risk to a baby whose mother has HIV or Hepatitis C?

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