When Andria Peterson began working as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, in 2009, she witnessed the devastating effects the opioid crisis had on the hospital's youngest patients.
She recalled vividly one baby who stayed in the NICU for 90 days with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a form of withdrawal, because his mother had used substances while pregnant.
The program helps about 100 women at any given time, Peterson said. Pregnancy often motivates people to seek treatment for substance use, she said. Yet significant barriers stand in the way of those who want care, even as national rates of fatal drug overdoses during and shortly after pregnancy continue to rise. In addition to the risk of overdose, substance use during pregnancy can result in premature birth, low birth weight, and sudden infant death syndrome.
Fatal overdoses among pregnant and postpartum people increased by approximately 81% from 2017 to 2020, according to a 2022 study. Of 7,642 reported deaths related to pregnancy during those years, 1,249 were overdoses. Rates of pregnancy-related opioid overdose deaths had already more than doubled from 2007 to 2016.
During a recent event hosted by Empowered, four mothers recounted their struggles with addiction while pregnant. "It was never my intention to actually have a drug addiction," said a mother named Amani. "I've always wanted to get out of the cycle of relapsing and drug usage." Researchers have found that, in addition to facing fear of punishment, many women don’t have access to treatment during and after pregnancy because few outpatient centers specialize in treating mothers.
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