title: Consequences of prenatal opioid use for newborns.
abstract: One-third of childbearing women take prescription opioids, previously occurring only in 6-7% of pregnant women. Prenatal opioid exposures may cause birth defects, altered brain development and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS incidence increased fourfold and length of stay increased from 13 to 19 days over 10 years (2004-2013), leading to sevenfold increases in NICU days due to NAS. Initial data suggest that recent NAS increases have resulted from increased use of prescription opioids rather than illicit drugs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Paediatricians will have to manage the consequences of prenatal opioid exposures, as the offspring often have complex medical and social issues associated with these families.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Anatomy & Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.|Pain Neurobiology Lab, UT Neuroscience Institute, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Kanwaljeet J S
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Anand
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Departments of Pediatrics, Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.|Centre for Pediatric Pain Research, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Campbell-Yeo
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009357:Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
keywords: Addiction; Epidemiology; Maternal substance abuse; Narcotic; Neonatal abstinence syndrome; Newborn