Born for Recovery

By Emily M. Nullet, Marissa L. Hayes, Rebecca M. Cordani, Jessalyn A. Myers, Carol R. Connery

Abstract

This interrupted case study presents the story of "Jane Paul," a 27-year-old pregnant woman excited by the prospect of bringing a new life into the world. Jane had been using heroin for the past seven years, but when she learns she is pregnant, she goes to a local clinic where she is prescribed methadone to treat her addiction. After seven months of treatment, Jane delivers successfully and her baby girl is admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In the NICU, the baby experiences mild symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and is treated medically, but overall is stable. After nine days of treatment, monitoring, and social service involvement in the care, the baby is discharged to the grandmother's home. This case study allows nursing students to explore the nursing assessment and interventions for a maternal-child situation with the added consideration of maternal methadone use.

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Date Posted

05/19/2015

Overview

Objectives

Discuss the difference in caring for a patient with a history of addiction and the psychosocial effects associated with this diagnosis.
Identify and verbalize understanding of the stressors associated with drug dependence during pregnancy.
Verbalize understanding of health promotion following delivery and the postpartum period.
Identify NAS symptoms and how to manage care based on the particular symptoms being shown.
Deliberate about nursing assessments, care, and evaluations to be provided for an infant with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Distinguish between the differences in symptomatology and treatment for a newborn presenting with neonatal abstinence syndrome versus a normal newborn.
Discuss administration and patient teachings associated with methadone use and identify additional resources necessary for this patient population.

Keywords

Methadone; neonatal abstinence syndrome; NAS; neonatal intensive care; NICU; neonate; maternity; post-partum; addiction

Subject Headings

Developmental Biology

Medicine (General)

Nursing

Pharmacy / Pharmacology

Toxicology

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate upper division, Graduate, Professional (degree program)

FORMAT

PDF

TOPICAL AREAS

N/A

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Directed, Interrupted

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

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Answer Key

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