The labor and birth experience of women with opioid use disorder: A qualitative study

The Lived Experience of Postpartum Women Attending Outpatient Substance Treatment for Opioid or Heroin Use

“…Implicit bias training may be one strategy, especially when used with additional approaches such as trauma‐informed care. Although the women in this study did not discuss IPV or sexual violence, these are previous or co‐occurring events for up to 70% of women with OUD 8–9,23 . Health care providers should recognize that not all women will disclose violence, but this history could be considered when caring for women with OUD.…”

“…The women described feeling unequal, being judged or treated differently by members of the health care team once their history of opioid or heroin use was disclosed. The presence of stigma among health care providers when rendering care to perinatal women with substance use has been well documented 12,22–24 . Renbarger et al 22 and O'Rourke‐Suchoff et al 23 both reported that women with OUD experienced disparaging comments or stigmatizing behaviors from members of the health care team while receiving care related to pregnancy.…”

“…The presence of stigma among health care providers when rendering care to perinatal women with substance use has been well documented 12,22–24 . Renbarger et al 22 and O'Rourke‐Suchoff et al 23 both reported that women with OUD experienced disparaging comments or stigmatizing behaviors from members of the health care team while receiving care related to pregnancy. These findings suggest a common experience when women with OUD interact with members of the health care team during the perinatal period.…”

Standardizing the Clinical Definition of Opioid Withdrawal in the Neonate

“…33,34 Even though maternal well-being is critical to neonatal health and development, pregnant and parenting people with OUD experience discrimination, barriers to care, and criminalization. [35][36][37][38] This recommended clinical definition of opioid withdrawal in the neonate does not imply that the pregnant person has harmed the neonate, and mothers should not be blamed for any adverse outcomes. In addition, a diagnosis of NAS or NOWS should not be used to remove a child from parental custody, because this diagnosis can be due to a myriad of factors.…”

Contraceptive decision making among pregnancy-capable individuals with opioid use disorder at a tertiary care center in Massachusetts

“…Individualized contraceptive decision support may also include known interventions such as information on self-removal of IUDs and referrals for pre-operative anesthesia consultation to discuss non-opioid pain management, as well as novel strategies such as linking daily oral contraceptive pill use to daily medication for opioid use disorder administration, or non-patient dependent tracking of LARC removal dates. [40,41] Housing instability is another important consideration in contraceptive decision making, although it is not specific to individuals with OUD. Existing limited data show women experiencing homelessness or housing instability report barriers to contraception use including a lack of reliable transportation, provider stigma, and lack of storage.…”