Long-Term Effects of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome

As drug misuse has increased in the United States over the last few years, pregnant women are no exception to this trend. The increased amount of exposure unborn children have to drugs has resulted in a higher percentage of NAS occuring in the country. In 2012, more than 380,000 unborn children were exposed to illicit drugs and nearly 6 percent of pregnant women used at least one illicit drug during their pregnancy. Nearly 1 million pregnant women smoke cigarettes, another potential risk for long-term problems with a child during and after pregnancy, and around 10 percent of women consumed alcohol during a pregnancy between 2013 and 2014. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports than in the U.S. each year, one out of every 33 babies are born with birth defects. These issues could arise from exposure to drugs while in the womb.

The lives of a baby who is born addicted to drugs and one who was never exposed to illicit substances in the womb can be similar in many ways, especially if NAS is identified early enough. There are significant risks with prenatal exposure to drugs such as meth, heroin, cocaine or prescription medications like Xanax or oxycontin.

Problems that children exposed to drugs in utero might experience are different for each child. Many NAS symptoms occur within days after birth, although the website March of Dimes states that some symptoms can occur as late as six months after birth. A baby with NAS might have jaundice, which can be identified by yellow eyes or skin, or a low birthweight.

Some of the other common early signs of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome that a child might experience include:

• Body shakes
• Seizures
• Overactive reflexes
• Tight muscle tone
• Fussiness or excessive crying
• Poor feeding or a slow weight gain
• Breathing problems
• Fever, sweating or blotchy skin
• Trouble sleeping and lots of yawning
• Diarrhea or throwing up
• Stuffy nose or sneezing

As the child gets older, though, there are other potential challenges they might face. The risk factors for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome is not limited just to physical struggles. Some of the challenges a family might face include issues involving a child’s educational development and other mental aspects.

Children with NAS were compared to a group of kids that matched in age, socioeconomic status and gender on the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy in  third, fifth, and seventh grades. The results for third grade showed that children with NAS scored lower than other children. By the time children with NAS reached seventh grade, many of them scored lower on tests than children without NAS who were in fifth grade. The study, which was done with kids from New South Wales, Australia, also reveals that the slow development continues as children with NAS reach high school.

One of the findings from the study is that certain parental strategies can diminish the effect that NAS can have on kids. However, parents who take opioids, prescription painkillers or other drugs during pregnancy run the risk of their child developing NAS. This exposure to substances before birth can have a lasting effect on their educational development.

Even without a significant amount of evidence correlating an affected auditory processing development to NAS, exposure to drugs can cause significant developmental issues for children. Any time a pregnant woman ingests drugs, whether it is illegal substances or a prescription medication such as oxycodone or another opiate, they run a major risk of developing NAS within their unborn child.

“The authors noted, however, that a previous study had found that adults with substance use disorders had a higher rate of ADHD symptoms, suggesting that ADHD was an independent risk factor for substance abuse,” the article reads, adding that “the mean level of symptoms associated with ASD was increased in exposed children as well, with more than one-third of exposed children (showing symptoms of ASD), mainly on the social difficulties subscale. The authors also noted that they found children with overlapping ADHD and ASD symptoms in the exposed group, lending support to the suggestion of neurodevelopmental vulnerability in exposed children.”

The findings from the study lend credence to the idea that children prenatally exposed to drugs and other harmful substances should receive early mental health assessments to properly identify ADHD and ASD.