Maternal responsivity and oxytocin in opioid-dependent mothers.

Although prenatal opioid exposure and postnatal withdrawal (neonatal abstinence syndrome) are associated with infant neurobehavioral deficits, little is known about the impact of continued maternal opioid treatment in the postnatal period on maternal responsivity and relationship to mother's oxytocin release during dyadic interactions in the Still Face paradigm. Mother and infant dyads (N = 14) were recruited and comprised of mothers on opioid replacement throughout pregnancy and postpartum (opioid-exposed group, n = 7) and a demographically controlled, non-exposed group (n = 7). Salivary oxytocin was collected following 10 min of infant separation before and immediately after a 6-min Still Face paradigm.