Opioid Use Treatment and Recovery Services During Pregnancy

The maternal and neonatal consequences of not receiving treatment for opioid use disorders (OUDs) is well known. To prevent adverse outcomes and provide appropriate treatment and services, it is imperative to understand factors influencing pregnant women with OUDs to seek treatment.

The purpose of this study is to identify barriers and facilitators related to opioid use treatment and recovery services among pregnant and nonpregnant women who misuse opioids.

Retrospective analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), using 2016, 2017, and 2018 NSDUH data. Sample included 122 pregnant and 3,305 nonpregnant women who misused opioids.

Significant associations were noted among women who misused opioids (n = 3,427); age (χ² = 25.406, p < .001), race/ethnicity (likelihood ratio [LR] = 17.721, p < .007), geographic location (χ² = 7.585, p < .023), health insurance (LR = 13.909, p < .016), tobacco use within the past year (χ² = 7.058, p = .008), and alcohol use within the past month (χ² = 76.783, p < 0.001), 3.3% pregnant and 1.8% nonpregnant women who misuse opioids perceive a need to obtain treatment; 10.7% pregnant and 6.5% nonpregnant women currently receiving treatment for opioid misuse. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology checklist was used to develop the study.

It is our responsibility to equally focus efforts on understanding the construct of perceived need and help seeking behaviors among pregnant women, as well as, deploy known techniques to engage them in recovery. Further research is necessary to explore the construct of perceived need in this population, as well as, strategies to increase engagement.