Context

Every day in the U.S., around 200 people die after opioid overdose, so the opioid epidemic directly impacts millions. With about 20% of all pregnant women prescribed opioids and 2.5% chronically using, the number of pregnant women with OUD more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2014 (1.5 per 1,000 hospital deliveries to 6.5). Although parenting is an essential process for human survival, parenting behaviors are incredibly vulnerable to stress and related psychopathology, including OUD and comorbid depression. Despite the fact that pregnant women with OUD receive “gold standard” buprenorphine treatment (BT) for withdrawal, they remain at high risk for problems through the postpartum, for which treatment is lacking. Mothers with OUD suffer with opioid use relapse, high stress, depression, polysubstance use and maladaptive parenting behaviors that can lead to child maltreatment and costly foster care utilization and contribute to transgenerational cycles of health risk.

Partners: University of Michigan and Stony Brook University