Did you know the infant-mother dyad is affected during treatment for opioid withdrawal?
In the 2016 study by Maguire and colleagues, entitled Characteristics of Maternal-Infant Interaction During Treatment for Opioid Withdrawal, researchers compared the differences between normative data and mothers who were enrolled in a methadone treatment program and their infants during a bottle feeding. 12 mother-infant dyads were analyzed and the researchers determined the opioid exposed dyads scored significantly lower in clarity of infant cues, responsiveness to caregiver, parent sensitivity to infant and parent contingency score.
As neonatal caregivers it is our job to counteract the negative effect opioid withdrawal has on the mother-infant relationship. Neonatal massage is a great way to help parents appropriately interpret their infant’s cues, enhance infant-parent bonding and decrease length of stay. The Neonatal Touch & Massage Certification is the perfect continuing education program to teach you and your coworkers the skills to do just this! Find out more here!
Maguire, D., Taylor, S., Armstrong, K., Shaffer-Hudkins, E., DeBate, R., Germain, A., Brooks, S. (2016). Characteristics of maternal-infant interaction during treatment for opioid withdrawal. Neonatal Network, 35 (5). 297-304.