Characteristics of Maternal–Infant Interaction During Treatment for Opioid Withdrawal

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the interactions between mothers in a methadone treatment program and their infants during a bottle feeding and compare the findings with normed data.

Design: A comparative-descriptive design was used.

Sample: Data from 12 opiate-exposed mother–infant dyads were compared with normed data.

Main outcome variable: Nursing Child Assessment Satellite-Training Scale scores.

Results: The opiate-exposed dyads scored significantly lower than the normed dyads in the infant subscales of clarity of cues (p < .001, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.56–4.08) and responsiveness to caregiver (p < .01, 95% CI, 0.27–2.5), as well as the total score (p < .001, 95% CI, 2.42–6.15). Parent sensitivity to infant cues subscale (p < .01, 95% CI, 0.42–2.37) and parent contingency score (p < .01, 95% CI, 0.55–3.81) were also significantly lower. The cognitive growth fostering subscale scores were significantly higher in the neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) group (p < .01, 95% CI,- 2.94 to- 0.7).