Opiates are currently the most common drug of abuse in Taiwan. In recent years, the percentage of childbearing age women who abuse drugs has been increasing, exposing more and more fetuses to the drugs in utero. Babies born to mothers who use opiates during pregnancy will likely have neonatal abstinence syndrome. In most cases, the mothers deny using drugs, so it is the neonate's symptoms, including restlessness and high-pitch crying, or the discovery of needle tracks in the mother that lead nurses to suspect drug abuse. This paper assesses the impact on the newborn of maternal opiate abuse during pregnancy and reviews the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and nursing care principles for the neonatal abstinence syndrome. Nurses should be equipped with sufficient knowledge and skills to manage such infants appropriately and to help parents develop the necessary childcare skills to care for these children.