Pregnancy & Addiction
Life and death and all the spots in between the two I’ve seen and worked with in intervention. For many women who are addicted, the trauma and loss associated with abortion comes up, as does the regret a mom will feel surrounding neglect of her children as she is gobbled up by addiction.
USA Today’s article on intervention during pregnancy, as a step in regular prenatal care, provides real insight in to how asking the right questions, being open to veiled answers and then offering help works to save lives of mother and unborn child. A terrific study and article.
- Brad
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By Liz Szabo
USA TODAY
Drug and alcohol users can have healthy pregnancies if they are treated early in the pregnancy, according to a study released today.
The treatment program, which allows women to receive substance abuse counseling with their regular prenatal care, should be the new “gold standard” for pregnant women, says lead author Nancy Goler, an obstetrician/gynecologist with Kaiser Permanente, which funded the study of nearly 50,000 women.
Women in the study who used substances, which included alcohol, tobacco, methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine or heroin, are normally at much higher risk for serious complications, she says.
But women in the study treated for substance abuse in their first trimesters were no more likely than others to have a pre-term delivery or develop a dangerous condition in which the placenta detaches from the uterus. Their babies were no more likely to be small, stillborn or need ventilator care.
For the mothers, Goler says the key to success was the approach to care at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, where the study was conducted. At Kaiser, all pregnant women are screened for drugs, alcohol and tobacco, Goler says. Social workers and licensed therapists work within the obstetrics and gynecology departments. After women finish their prenatal checkups, doctors walk those with positive drug tests down the hall to appointments with substance abuse counselors.
And the 2,100 women who received substance abuse treatment were a “select” group because they agreed to therapy, she says. About 160 women declined treatment. A study like this would be stronger if researchers randomly assigned some women to receive coordinated care and others to receive usual medical care.
Goler says she hopes her study will help women protect themselves and their babies. While women should stop using drugs before becoming pregnant, she says her study shows “it’s never too late to stop.”