The gut-brain connection is trending due to new understandings of the important links between these vital organs. What does this mean for opioid exposed infants? Is their gut, aka gastrointestinal tract, affected by the opiates mom consumes? These researchers had the same questions.

Title: Neonatal abstinence syndrome and the gastrointestinal tract

Published in Medical Hypotheses, December 2016

Summary in Plain English:

In the NICU, your NAS baby may have suffered from diarrhea, vomiting and reflux. The high-pitched crying may have been due to intolerable abdominal pain and cramping. These are all symptoms of gastrointestinal distress.

This study asks what happens in the intestinal tract of a fetus exposed to opioids. While exposure during gestation, and development of NAS at birth, are well known to be associated with gastrointestinal distress, the authors did not see data to confirm this exposure lead to a dysbiotic gut microbiome.

Since 2016, when this article was published, it has been proven that in utero exposure to opioids does indeed cause a dysbiotic gut microbiome. This means that the balance of bacteria and other microorganisms in the digestive system is not healthy or normal. It suggests that there might be an overgrowth of harmful bacteria or a lack of beneficial ones, which can lead to various health issues through the child’s life. Without a healthy gut microbiome, newborns can struggle to establish strong immunity and protection from pathogens.

Although this article was published as a hypothesis, or question to future researchers, it is included here due to the important science the hypothesis is based on.

Many thanks to the authors of this article: Denise Maguire PhD, RN, CNL and Maureen Gröer PhD, RN, FAAN

The full report is accessible here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2016.10.006