Neonatal narcotic abstinence: Effects of pharmacotherapeutic agents and maternal drug usage on nutritive sucking behavior,

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An uncoordinated and ineffectual sucking reflex is a major manifestation of neonatal narcotic abstinence and may have important consequences for the infant's subsequent well being. Measures of nutritive sucking were used to monitor the severity of neonatal narcotic abstinence in a series of infants born to narcotic-dependent mothers who were either, attending the methadone clinic or else were “street addicts.” In all these infants, sucking measures were significantly reduced relative to normal control subjects. Furthermore, the sucking behavior of infants born to mothers attending the methadone, clinic was significantly more depressed than that of infants born to street addicts. In regard to the salutary effects of pharmacotherapy for neonatal narcotic abstinence, infants treated with pargeoric approached normal control levels and showed significantly between sucking than those treated with phenobarbital or diazepam. The latter drug practically eliminated all spontaneous nutritive sucking, behavior.

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Supported in part by Research Grant HD-DA-06009 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Research Grant DA-00325 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and small Grant MH-19052 from the National Institute of Mental Health: also, a Research Contract No. 1674 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, and the Department of Public Welfare through the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute.

The studies described herein were performed within the Newborn Nurseries of the Philadelphia General Hospital and the laboratories of the Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania.

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