Infants who are chronically exposed to opiates during pregnancy are at risk for undergoing opiate withdrawal after birth, termed Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). These infants demonstrate jitteriness, irritability, sleep problems, seizures, and poor feeding, among other symptoms. Treatment of these symptoms requires longer stays in the hospital, causing maternal-infant separation, and increased costs of medical care. The typical treatment for NAS is either methadone or morphine, with a tapered dose over time. Evidence is mounting that breastfeeding may play an important role in the treatment of NAS, because of the transmission of opiates in breastmilk, assuming that the mother continues on opiates postpartum.
A large 2016 study identified 3,725 newborns in Pennsylvania with a diagnosis of NAS prior to discharge, with 44.5 % breastfeeding at discharge.