Opioid Use in Pregnancy, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and Childhood Outcomes: Executive Summary of a Joint Workshop by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Maternal-fetal Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the March of Dimes Foundation

Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy: Health Policy and Practice in the Midst of an Epidemic.

The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy is increasing. Practical recommendations will help providers treat pregnant women with OUD and reduce potentially negative health consequences for mother, fetus, and child. This article summarizes the literature review conducted using the RAND/University of California, Los Angeles Appropriateness Method project completed by the US Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to obtain current evidence on treatment approaches for pregnant and parenting women with OUD and their infants and children.
Three separate search methods were employed to identify peer-reviewed journal articles providing evidence on treatment methods for women with OUD who are pregnant or parenting, and for their children. Identified articles were reviewed for inclusion per study guidelines and relevant information was abstracted and summarized.
Of the 1697 articles identified, 75 were included in the literature review. The perinatal use of medication for addiction treatment (MAT, also known as medication-assisted treatment), either methadone or buprenorphine, within comprehensive treatment is the most accepted clinical practice, as withdrawal or detoxification risks relapse and treatment dropout. Medication increases may be needed with advancing pregnancy, and are not associated with more severe neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Switching medication prenatally is usually not recommended as it can destabilize opioid abstinence. Postnatally, breastfeeding is seen as beneficial for the infant for women who are maintained on a stable dose of opioid agonist medication. Less is known about ideal pain management and postpartum dosing regimens. NAS appears generally less severe following prenatal exposure to buprenorphine versus methadone. Frontline NAS medication treatments include protocol-driven methadone and morphine dosing in the context of nonpharmacological supports.
Women with OUD can be treated with methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy. NAS is an expected and manageable condition. Although research has substantially advanced, opportunities to guide future research to improve maternal and infant outcomes are provided.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

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Treating Women Who Are Pregnant and Parenting for Opioid Use Disorder and the Concurrent Care of Their Infants and Children: Literature Review to Support National Guidance.

The role of screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in the perinatal period

Pregnancy is an opportune time to identify opioid dependence, facilitate conversion to opioid maintenance treatment, and coordinate care with specialists in addiction medicine, behavioral health, and social services Comprehensive prenatal care for opioid-dependent women involves the evaluation and the management of co-occurring psychiatric disorders, polysubstance use, infectious diseases, social stressors, and counseling regarding the importance of breastfeeding, contraception, and neonatal abstinence syndrome Although the complex psychiatric, social, and environmental factors faced by this population pose significant challenges to obstetric care providers, the development of strong patient-provider relationships can facilitate the ability to deliver efficient and effective health care during pregnancy

Caring for Opioid-dependent Pregnant Women: Prenatal and Postpartum Care Considerations.

Clinical care for opioid-using pregnant and postpartum women: the role of obstetric providers

We review clinical care issues that are related to illicit and therapeutic opioid use among pregnant women and women in the postpartum period and outline the major responsibilities of obstetrics providers who care for these patients during the antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum periods. Selected patient treatment issues are highlighted, and case examples are provided. Securing a strong rapport and trust with these patients is crucial for success in delivering high-quality obstetric care and in coordinating services with other specialists as needed. Obstetrics providers have an ethical obligation to screen, assess, and provide brief interventions and referral to specialized treatment for patients with drug use disorders. Opioid-dependent pregnant women often can be treated effectively with methadone or buprenorphine. These medications are classified as pregnancy category C medications by the Food and Drug Administration, and their use in the treatment of opioid-dependent pregnant patients should not be considered "off-label." Except in rare special circumstances, medication-assisted withdrawal during pregnancy should be discouraged because of a high relapse rate. Acute pain management in this population deserves special consideration because patients who use opioids can be hypersensitive to pain and because the use of mixed opioid-agonist/antagonists can precipitate opioid withdrawal. In the absence of other indications, pregnant women who use opioids do not require more intense medical care than other pregnant patients to ensure adequate treatment and the best possible outcomes. Together with specialists in pain and addiction medicine, obstetricians can coordinate comprehensive care for pregnant women who use opioids and women who use opioids in the postpartum period.

Carol McClelland

Papers

Clinical care for opioid-using pregnant and postpartum women: the role of obstetric providers

Clinical Care for Opioid-using Pregnant and Postpartum Women: The Role of Obstetric Providers