Other names: NAS; Neonatal Withdrawal

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of symptoms that arise in a newborn baby who has been exposed to illegal or prescription drugs and has become drug dependant, then subsequently goes through withdrawal when the drug is discontinued.Symptoms of NAS can include body shakes, tremors, excessive crying, sweating, feeding issues and digestive problems. The severity of symptoms are dependant on type of drug used, dosage and frequency of drug use.There are two types of NAS which are defined by when the exposure of the drug occurred. In prenatal NAS the drug exposure occurs when a pregnant mother continues with her regular drug use, this means the drug passes from the mother’s blood stream to the fetus causing the baby to become drug dependent. Once the baby is born it ceases to have its drug supply and therefore goes into withdrawal. Postnatal NAS may occur when an unwell baby has been treated with high dose prescription drugs then if the drugs are discontinued too quickly the neonate will have withdrawal symptoms.

Drugs used to treat Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome