A REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT – NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF NEONATAL ABSTINENCE SYNDROME

Abstract

This reflection will use Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle to undertake a critical account of my experience as a student midwife on a busy postnatal ward caring for a woman and her newborn baby who was being assessed for neonatal abstinence syndrome. My reflection focuses on the assessment of neonatal abstinence syndrome and how newborns can be supported through withdrawal with the use of nonpharmacological methods. The use of strength-based approaches by midwives to provide effective care and support of newborn babies, and the importance of interdisciplinary working when caring for vulnerable women and families is also highlighted.