Newborn alcohol withdrawal: physical and behavioral characteristics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to point out the repercussions of alcohol consumption, by pregnant women, on the newborn. For this, a bibliographic review research was carried out in the SciELO, LILACS and Pubmed online databases. The key words were: "neonatal abstinence syndrome", "newborn", "ethanol", "nursing", "neonatal abstinence syndrome", "newborns", "drug withdrawal", "neonatal nursing". Full articles in Portuguese and English were included. Studies have shown that pregnant women expose the fetus to physical and social problems. After birth, there is a drop in the circulating levels of alcohol in the newborn's body, which can lead to the Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome causing inadequate suction, hypertonia, tremors, seizures, intense crying, irritability, sleep disturbance and the possibility of sudden death, in addition to facial dysmorphia that includes short palpebral fissures, thin upper lip, smooth philtrum, maxillary hypoplasia and short nose. It is concluded that the diagnosis of the Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome is difficult to recognize immediately due to the similarity of the characteristics to other diseases, which leads to conduct errors in the treatment. This scenario strengthens the practice of nurses highlighting the importance of specific academic training, technical and social-emotional skills to work with the subject.