Evaluation of Perinatal and Developmental Outcomes in Neonates with Abstinence Syndrome Admitted to NICU

Ali Kheradmand¹, Sahar Ashrafzadeh², Farzane Rouzegari³, Samin Aliakbarian¹, Ali Naseh^4,*
1 Department of Psychiatry, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 19839-63113, Iran
2 David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
3 Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 19839-63113, Iran
4 Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Research Development Center, Mahdiyeh Educational Hospital, Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, 19839-63113, Iran
* Corresponding Author: Ali Naseh. Email: a.naseh@sbmu.ac.ir; alise1349@gmail.com

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2023.024773

Received 07 June 2022; Accepted 17 October 2022; Published online 06 December 2022

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Abstract

Drug abuse by pregnant women is one of the significant problems for mothers and their neonates. This study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal substance use disorder during pregnancy on neonatal developmental criteria. In a case-control study, clinical records of 90 neonates diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome who were admitted to NICU in one of four hospitals affiliated with Shahid-Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran, Iran between 2017 and 2020 were compared to 90 neonates without neonatal abstinence syndrome (control group). Demographic information and data for neonatal developmental characteristics and complications were extracted from the clinical records of this convenience sample. Data for the type and method of maternal substance use during pregnancy were collected through a telephone call with mothers. Our data showed that the prevalence of drug addiction was 1.8% among pregnant women, and the most common drugs used by mothers were opium (n = 45%, 50%), amphetamine (n = 30%, 33%), and methadone (n = 14%, 16%). Neonates with abstinence syndrome had a higher prevalence of transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN) (P = 0.004), and a prevalence of being admitted to NICU (P = 0.05) and for a longer duration (P < 0.001). Their mothers had a higher prevalence of having pre-eclampsia (P = 0.010). Using morphine vs. amphetamine showed no difference based on their effects on mothers and neonates. Substance use during pregnancy increased the prevalence of pregnancy complications (pre-eclampsia) and neonatal complications (TTN and prevalence and duration of hospitalization). Therefore, planning for the development of health policies to raise awareness among women and more broadly, all members of the community, is important to prevent the tendency to engage in this potentially high-risk behavior.

Keywords

Drug abuse; maternal addiction; substance use disorder; neonatal abstinence syndrome; developmental characteristics; perinatal outcomes; case-control study; neonates; pregnancy