Key TakeawaysA secret shopper study from Vanderbilt University found that female callers who said they were pregnant had more difficulty accessing treatment for opioid use disorder.Facilities that treat opioid use disorder may not be equipped to help pregnant people who struggle with this addiction.Opioid use during pregnancy has been linked to stillbirths and birth defects.

Key Takeaways

A secret shopper study from Vanderbilt University found that female callers who said they were pregnant had more difficulty accessing treatment for opioid use disorder.Facilities that treat opioid use disorder may not be equipped to help pregnant people who struggle with this addiction.Opioid use during pregnancy has been linked to stillbirths and birth defects.

Prescription opioid use during pregnancy could lead to misuse, addiction, and even overdose. A 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that around 6.6% of pregnant people used opioids during their pregnancy.

Researchers had trained nine women to schedule appointments over the phone for medication prescription and opioid treatment programs. For each call, the callers were randomly assigned to pretend to be pregnant or not. The callers placed more than 28,000 calls.

The “secret shopper” study revealed that pregnant women were about20% less likely to be acceptedfor treatment than non-pregnant women. Those who claimed to be on Medicaid also had a hard time booking an appointment.

For callers who pretended they were pregnant, their pregnancy either hindered or helped them get treatment more quickly. Some providers said that they were uncomfortable treating someone who was pregnant, especially in prescribing buprenorphine, a medication for opioid use disorder.

What Is Buprenorphine?

Many actors encountered unwelcoming reaction from receptionists. Others were told that buprenorphine is not safe during pregnancy. According to the CDC, both buprenorphine and methadone are first-line treatment options for pregnant women with opioid use disorder.

The dismissal or hesitancy in treating pregnant patients reflects the need for better ways to address the opioid crisis. “The opioid crisis is moving much more quickly than the medical community can keep up,“Sherry Ross, MD, OB/GYN, and women’s health expert at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, tells Verywell. “That’s why we were doing a very poor job at handling the opioid epidemic, especially with pregnant patients.”

Possible Effects of Opioid Use on Childbirth

The CDC reports that long-term opioid use during pregnancy could result in poor fetal growth, preterm birth, stillbirth, and specific birth defects.

Opioid use from a pregnant parent could result in a newborn experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), also known as neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.

Symptoms of NAS can include the following:

Why Doctors May Be Hesitant to Treat Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy

There is no treatment for opioid use disorder that would completely guarantee the safety of pregnant patients.

Some healthcare professionals, Ross explains, may be uncertain about the correct measures. “I don’t think we have the skill set to know what to do properly,” she says. “Plus it’s a team effort to work with someone who uses opioids during their pregnancy.”

What This Means For YouWhile pregnant women struggling with opioid use disorder may have difficulties finding an addiction care provider, treatment with buprenorphine or methadone can help lower the risk and the severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome.

What This Means For You

While pregnant women struggling with opioid use disorder may have difficulties finding an addiction care provider, treatment with buprenorphine or methadone can help lower the risk and the severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome.

6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ko J, D’Angelo D, Haight S et al.Vital signs: prescription opioid pain reliever use during pregnancy — 34 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(28):897-903. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6928a1Phillippi JC, Schulte R, Bonnet K, et al.Reproductive-age women’s experience of accessing treatment for opioid use disorder: “we don’t do that here.”Women’s Health Issues. 2021;31(5):455-461. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2021.03.010Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Buprenorphine.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for opioid use disorder before, during, and after pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About opioid use during pregnancy.National Institute of Drug Abuse.Risks of opioid misuse during pregnancy.

6 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Ko J, D’Angelo D, Haight S et al.Vital signs: prescription opioid pain reliever use during pregnancy — 34 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(28):897-903. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6928a1Phillippi JC, Schulte R, Bonnet K, et al.Reproductive-age women’s experience of accessing treatment for opioid use disorder: “we don’t do that here.”Women’s Health Issues. 2021;31(5):455-461. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2021.03.010Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Buprenorphine.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for opioid use disorder before, during, and after pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About opioid use during pregnancy.National Institute of Drug Abuse.Risks of opioid misuse during pregnancy.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Ko J, D’Angelo D, Haight S et al.Vital signs: prescription opioid pain reliever use during pregnancy — 34 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(28):897-903. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6928a1Phillippi JC, Schulte R, Bonnet K, et al.Reproductive-age women’s experience of accessing treatment for opioid use disorder: “we don’t do that here.”Women’s Health Issues. 2021;31(5):455-461. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2021.03.010Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Buprenorphine.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for opioid use disorder before, during, and after pregnancy.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About opioid use during pregnancy.National Institute of Drug Abuse.Risks of opioid misuse during pregnancy.

Ko J, D’Angelo D, Haight S et al.Vital signs: prescription opioid pain reliever use during pregnancy — 34 U.S. jurisdictions, 2019.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(28):897-903. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6928a1

Phillippi JC, Schulte R, Bonnet K, et al.Reproductive-age women’s experience of accessing treatment for opioid use disorder: “we don’t do that here.”Women’s Health Issues. 2021;31(5):455-461. doi:10.1016/j.whi.2021.03.010

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.Buprenorphine.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for opioid use disorder before, during, and after pregnancy.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.About opioid use during pregnancy.

National Institute of Drug Abuse.Risks of opioid misuse during pregnancy.

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