Caring for opioid dependent pregnant women: prenatal and postpartum care considerations

摘要

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 management of co-occurring psychiatric disorders, polysubstance use, infectious diseases, social stressors and counseling regarding the importance of breastfeeding, contraception and neonatal abstinence syndrome. While 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.