A survey of the management of neonatal opiate withdrawal in England and Wales.

UNLABELLED: This report details the results of a survey of 213 maternity units in England and Wales concerning the use of neonatal opiate withdrawal (NOW) charts and the drug therapy management of babies born to drug using mothers. There was a response rate of 89.6%. NOW charts were used in 36.6% of units. There were eight different charts in use in which over 35 different signs of NOW were recorded, ranging from 10 to 22 on individual charts. Nine different drugs were used to manage NOW, with chlorpromazine most commonly used.

CONCLUSION

Drug misuse increasing in women of childbearing age and the management of the drug affected neonate varies widely, with inconsistent policies on determining the presence of NOW and how to treat it.