Revolutionizing the Treatment for Babies Withdrawing From Opioids

Yale’s Dr. Grossman challenged dogma to change the outcome for infants

Bo Stapler, MD
Elemental
Published in
11 min readFeb 18, 2021

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Photo: The Washington Post/Getty Images

This story starts with a puzzle. Can you think outside the box? If so, try solving the following challenge. Imagine this nine-dot puzzle is printed on a sheet of paper. Now, with a pen, connect all the dots, drawing just four straight lines without taking your pen off the paper.

We’ll get back to the puzzle in a moment, but first, let’s take a journey through time.

An anticipated gathering

Five years ago, I entered a San Diego convention hall 10 minutes early for a presentation yet was unable to locate a vacant seat. Physicians from across the country had gathered to hear from experts about the latest research and trends in the care of hospitalized patients. I wasn’t the only one whose interest was sparked by this particular session’s title, “Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Rethinking Our Approach.”

Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), also called neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), is a condition seen in babies born to mothers…

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Bo Stapler, MD
Elemental

Health & science writer on Elemental & other pubs. Hospitalist physician in internal medicine & pediatrics. Interpreter of medical jargon. bostapler.medium.com