Newborn Withdrawal (NAS- Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome)

        Trying to research NAS was one of the most nerve-wracking things of the last weeks of Anne's pregnancy. Would Baby Girl go through withdrawal? How bad would it be? Would she have to go to the NICU? Would she suffer?
       I learned this week in the hospital that the reason there is no concrete information available about NAS is that it is totally unpredictable. The doctors told me that they have seen multiple instances of two women with the exact same medication/substance use profile, and one of their babies has absolutely no withdrawal symptoms but the other one will end up in the NICU for 3 weeks. They have seen women on extremely high doses of methadone give birth to a babies who end up with a couple of mild symptoms, while some women on doses of opiate pain relievers considered to be safe for pregnancy watch their babies suffer from serious withdrawal for days or weeks. Even in Anne's case, there were some doctors and nurses who looked at her chart and said "I wouldn't be worried about that baby" while others said "You should prepare yourself for the baby needing step-down therapy in the NICU." So, first and foremost, no one is going to be able to give you a prediction about if the baby you are hoping to adopt will go through withdrawal and if so, how bad it will be.

Update & prayer request

         These past few weeks have been filled with waiting, but that may be drawing to a close. Anne met with a specialist today to talk about setting an induction date. She has remained ill for her entire pregnancy, and things with her health are getting to the point that it would be safer for Baby Girl to be born early and have the risks associated with a 5 week (or less) prematurity than to have the risks of remaining in such a sick body for much longer.