11-23-2023 4:48pm

Overdose Deaths on the rise in pregnant Women

Anita Johnson-Brown Editor

A recent study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that there has been a significant increase in drug overdose deaths among pregnant and postpartum women between early 2018 and late 2021. The study reports that overdose mortality more than tripled among women aged 35 to 44 during this period. The study found that overdose deaths increased between January to June 2018 and July to December 2021 among girls and women between the ages of 10 to 44 who were pregnant or had given birth within the previous 12 months.

Over 60% of these overdose deaths occurred outside healthcare settings, even in counties with available healthcare resources. The study suggests that there may be significant barriers for pregnant women with substance use disorders in accessing treatment, such as stigma, discrimination, lack of socioeconomic resources, and penalization. The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

“The stigma and punitive policies that burden pregnant women with substance use disorder increase overdose risk by making it harder to access life-saving treatment and resources,” said Nora Volkow, M.D., NIDA Director and senior author of the study. “Reducing barriers and the stigma that surrounds addiction can open the door for pregnant individuals to seek and receive evidence-based treatment and social support to sustain their health as well as their child’s health.” To learn more visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Reference

B Han, et al. Pregnancy and postpartum drug overdose deaths in the US before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic(link is external). JAMA Psychiatry. DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.4523 (2023)

Updated By Anita Johnson-Brown