A recent study revealed that the rate of opioid use among pregnant women across the US has doubled over the past decade.
As per the study published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine, researchers tracked over 5.5 million pregnancies in California between 2008-2020 and discovered that nearly 14,000 involved women using opioids during their gestational period.
Research discovered an increased use of opioid during pregnancy, which significantly increased from 0.14% in 2008 to 0.33% in 2020. Such use poses a significant health threat on mother and child both.
Women using opioids were found to be at a higher risk of experiencing delivery complications and up to 71% more likely to deliver preterm.
Their infants saw a 72% higher risk of death and were nearly three times as likely to require neonatal intensive care.
Associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University Dr. Jamie Lo stated, “Sadly, many people using opioids while pregnant hesitate to seek help due to fear of judgment.”
The researchers highlighted that addictive drugs should be a crucial part of prenatal care.
While highlighting the challenges in patient care, Lead researcher Dr. Kristin Prewitt stated that only one in four residential treatment programs in Oregon provide care for pregnant individuals, and some counties lack both obstetric and addiction care.
Prewitt said, “Evidence shows that linking patients to care earlier improves outcomes. If we’re aware early on that an individual faces these additional risks, we can ensure they receive personalized, multidisciplinary care in the prenatal and postnatal periods, and ultimately when they move onto pediatric care with their child.”
