Eat, Sleep, Console - Bringing Everyone Together

Treating babies addicted to opioids takes patience and time as babies may have tremors, diaper rash, jitteriness, fussiness, excessive or uncoordinated sucking, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, excessive crying, and higher temperatures.

UNC Health Blue Ridge has a family-centered approach to treating these babies called Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC). This model uses the best care options for baby by giving the family ways they can help their babies such as skin-to-skin touching, breastfeeding, or holding and singing to them.

Clinical studies involving ESC have shown that increasing mother-baby together time, and allowing the baby to simply eat, sleep, and be consoled and comforted by the mother, has reduced the amount of medication needed by the infant. Studies also found that this method shortened the time the baby stayed in the hospital, lowered the number of babies going into the baby intensive care unit, and reduced the cost of care.

The program has been proven to lower the length of stay for babies with opioid withdrawal from an average of 14 days to 5 days here at UNC Health Blue Ridge’s Special Care Nursery.

Patients are grateful for the program as they are often worried about being judged, and having their babies taken from them and put in the intensive care. Many of these moms are receiving treatment and want what is best for their babies, and the nurses here are supportive.

UNC Health Blue Ridge believes that moms are the most valuable team member and treatment option for their babies. We believe in bringing everyone together every day for the babies.