How Substance Abuse Affects Newborns

In the state of Colorado, cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS) increased by 120% from 2011 to 2016. Clinicians provide critical support to improve outcomes for these newborns, and there’s been impressive collaboration among healthcare providers around this issue. Two important examples are the Colorado Hospitals Substance Exposed Newborn Quality Improvement Collaborative, otherwise known as CHoSEN QIC, and Kids in Care Setting Clinic (KICKS). In this episode, we learn about these initiatives and how they benefit hospitals like Children’s Hospital Colorado to provide the best care for our patients.

Joining us for this discussion are two experts. Bird Gilmartin, MD, is the Medical Director for Kids in Care Settings Clinic (KICS) at Children’s Colorado, as well as an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Sunah (Susan) Hwang, MD, specializes in neonatal and perinatal medicine at Children’s Colorado and is an associate professor of pediatric neonatology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In this episode our experts discuss:

• The epidemic of perinatal opioid use, as well as illicit and legally prescribed substance abuse
• Suggestions on shifting your perspective as a provider about families with substance use issues
• The ways these substance abuse programs intertwine with our legal system

Some resources our experts recommend utilizing are the Colorado Perinatal Care Quality Collaborative (CPCQC), Illuminate, and Tough as a Mother.