Substance use during pregnancy, particularly the use of opioids, has dramatically increased in the last decade. While much attention has been paid to the negative impacts of opioid use on the fetus and newborn, less attention has been given to the pregnant woman. To address this gap, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) will convene a presidential workshop with national leaders in obstetric care and addiction medicine.
Entitled, "Substance Use Disorders in Pregnancy," the workshop will take place on January 29-30, 2018 in conjunction with SMFM's 38th Annual Pregnancy Meeting™ in Dallas. Representatives from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will be represented at the workshop.
The goals of the workshop include:
- To review the current evidence on substance use disorders (SUD) in pregnancy.
- To review existing barriers to accessing treatment for SUD in pregnant women.
- To review ethical issues regarding screening and treating SUD in pregnant women.
- To review and discuss clinical guidance for obstetric care providers in treating pregnant women with SUD.
- To discuss acute and chronic pain management during antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum care.
- To review research needs and gaps on maternal and fetal effects on substance use during pregnancy and treatment outcomes.
"Substance use disorders are medical conditions that can be successfully treated. Yet, treatment options for pregnant women are understudied and not easily accessed," said Alfred Abuhamad, MD, SMFM's president and originator of the workshop. "We hope that this presidential workshop shines a light on the need for additional research and clinical guidance in this area."
Work is underway to provide health systems and health care providers standardized guidance on how to prepare for, recognize, and respond to opioid misuse during pregnancy. In fact, SMFM and ACOG are partners in the national, collaborative effort called the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM), whose goal is to eliminate preventive maternal mortality and severe morbidity across the United States. AIM recently released a patient safety tool focused on obstetric care for women with opioid use disorders. Further, ASAM's National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use includes a chapter dedicated to treating pregnant women with opioid use disorder.
"Partnerships such as AIM and the upcoming workshop are critical to advancing care and reducing stigma," said Washington Hill, MD, co-chair of the workshop. "The special needs of pregnant women must be considered in this national epidemic."
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An executive summary of the workshop will be published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG).
About ACOG
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), is the nation's leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 58,000 members, ACOG strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women's health care. http://www.acog.org
About ASAM
The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is a professional society representing over 5,000 physicians and associated professionals dedicated to increasing access and improving the quality of addiction treatment; educating physicians, other medical professionals, and the public; supporting research and prevention, and promoting the appropriate role of physicians in the care of patients with addiction. For more information, visit http://www.ASAM.org.
About SMFM
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (est. 1977) is a non-profit membership organization representing the interests of obstetricians/gynecologists who have additional formal education in maternal-fetal medicine. The Society is devoted to reducing high-risk pregnancy complications by providing continuing education to its more than 2,000 members on the latest pregnancy assessment and treatment methods. It also serves as an advocate for improving public policy, and expanding research funding and opportunities for maternal-fetal medicine. SMFM hosts an annual scientific meeting in which new ideas and research in the area of maternal-fetal medicine are unveiled and discussed. For more information, visit http://www.smfm.org.