Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome among Infants Born to Mothers with Sickle Cell Hemoglobinopathies

Objective The objective of this study is to examine risk factors for neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) among infants born to mothers with sickle cell hemoglobinopathies (SCH). Study Design Retrospective cohort study of nonanomalous, singleton infants born to mothers with laboratory confirmed SCH. Infants were included if they were diagnosed with NAS prior to hospital discharge. The outcome of interest was the association of maternal variables with NAS. Results Of 131 infants born to mothers with SCH, 4% ( n = 5) were diagnosed with NAS. Mothers of infants with NAS were more likely to have SC disease (80%) compared with other SCH (20%), p = 0.001. Fifteen women had antepartum (AP) admissions for pain and/or sickle crisis. Of these patients, four infants (29%) were diagnosed with NAS. The median (5th and 95th percentile) maternal AP length of stay for women with infants diagnosed with NAS to mothers with sickle cell disease was 132 (5, 180) days ( p = 0.02). Conclusion Incidence of NAS among mothers with SCH is low; severe disease characterized by AP sickle cell crisis requiring prolonged AP admission for pain control significantly increases the risk of NAS. Further studies are needed to investigate the association of maternal opioid dose and NAS.