State policy responses to substance use in pregnancy and mother-infant outcomes

Abstract

The opioid crisis has had a substantial effect on pregnant women, with the number of pregnant women with an opioid use disorder diagnosis at delivery quadrupling from 1999 to 2014, and the incidence of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome increasing nearly seven fold from 2000 to 2014. The speaker, a clinician-researcher with extensive experience for this population, will discuss (1) the evolution of state policies related to substance use in pregnancy over the past two decades, (2) her research on the effects of these policies on the mother-infant dyad, (3) the rapidly-growing evidence base on the harmful impacts of punitive policies towards substance use in pregnancy, and (4) future research directions and opportunities to improve care for maternal-infant dyads affected by opioid use in the perinatal period.