Neonatal abstinence syndrome is a term used to describe a condition in the newborn after intrauterine drug exposure to addictive substances, causing a constellation of signs and symptoms, including jitteriness, high tone, irritability, feeding, and sleep difficulties. Opioids are the most common culprit behind NAS, most commonly heroin. Symptoms of NAS typically peak at day of life 3-4 and require hospitalization for the baby. These infants are a challenge to manage. Strategies to try and calm these infants include skin to skincare, rocking, offering a pacifier, and swaddling. The trouble that you can run into in clinical practice is that most commercial swaddles can cause these infants to overheat, thus increasing their Finnegan Scores. Once you try the embé® Swaddle on these patients, you’ll see why more and more hospitals are switching to embé® for their swaddling needs. The embé® swaddle is the only swaddle on the market that allows for the legs to be swaddled IN or OUT, thus decreasing the infant's body temperature to prevent overheating. Furthermore, because the legs can be swaddled OUT, this means that these babies can be placed in a swing or Mamaroo while swaddled and can be secured safely. The swaddle has a patented design that prevents it from riding up over the face of these babies. The adjusted and secure fit of the embé® swaddle can decrease tremors and elongate periods of sleep for the newborn in withdrawal. The legs out feature of the embé® swaddle will allow minimal interruptions to the newborn while the nurse or caregiver is performing newborn care. It’s a win-win. This swaddle is totally a game-changer when it comes to caring for babies with NAS! See for yourself by visiting embebabies.com!
Written by:
Dr. Roper
NICU Physical Therapist
December 06, 2019
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Embe Babies Inc.
