The nurse is caring for a patient who has been addicted to drugs for several years. The patient delivered a male infant 48 hours ago. Which of the following assessment findings can the nurse expect in the infant?

Explanation

• Drug-addicted newborns usually experience drug-withdrawal symptoms beginning 24 to 48 hours after birth, although it may take up to a week for symptoms to appear. Such symptoms include low birth weight, nervousness, irritability, tremors, seizures, poor feeding, piercing cry, and respiratory distress.

• Illicit drugs tend to be of small molecular weight, so they cross the placenta readily. As a result, the fetus of an addicted mother has a drug concentration of about 50% that of the mother.

• The other conditions are not found in drug-addicted newborns.

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