Abstract

Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a withdrawal syndrome appearing in newborns that become exposed to opioids, or other illicit teratogenic substances intrauterine. Infants born suffering from Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome require more medical interventions than an otherwise considered healthy infant. These interventions can include supplemental nutrition (along with feedings), extra comfort care (such as skin-to-skin contact, dimming the lights, and quieting the environment), and even treatment with opioids in some severe cases where the ability to thrive would be severely negatively impacted. Medical professionals have previously sought to discover whether feeding practices (breastfed vs formula-fed) also affect the severity of the infant's withdrawal and overall outcome. When infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome breastfeed with their birth mother, they are still receiving microdoses of the illicit opioid, or other substances they are withdrawing from, through their mother's breastmilk. However, when formula fed, they do not receive these addictive substances, but rather only the necessary nutrition that would be given to an otherwise healthy baby also receiving formula feeding. Medical professionals have since wondered which feeding method has better outcomes for the infant. This literature review of multiple sources in medical and nursing journals evaluated the positive and negative sides of both feeding methods in infants affected by Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. In infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, do infants who are fed with breastmilk, compared to infants who are formula fed, have better developmental outcomes and increased ability to thrive?