Over the years of 15, abuse of opioids among pregnant American women has grown 4 times

The incidence of opioid abuse among pregnant women in the United States has increased more than four times over the 15-year period ending in the 2014 year.

Фото: Depositphotos

This is evidenced by data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), writes CNN.

The use of opioid drugs - heroin or painkillers - during pregnancy is harmful to the health of the mother and baby and can lead to stillbirth, premature birth, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and in some cases, death of the mother.

According to Dr. Wanda Barfield, Director of Reproductive Health at the CDC, opioid abuse is evident in an increasing number of pregnant women.

State data

CDC researchers analyzed data on discharge of new mothers from hospitals with 1999 to 2014 a year to identify trends in opioid use.

During this time, the national prevalence of opioid misuse diagnoses among pregnant women increased by 333%, from 1,5 cases per 1000 births to 6,5 cases. That is, the average annual increase is 0,4 cases per 1000 births.

CDC analysis is based on data for 30 states only, as data for the rest of the regions was incomplete or not available.

In 1999, the prevalence of opioid abuse diagnoses among pregnant women ranged from 0,1 per 1000 births in Iowa to 8,2 in Maryland. In 2014, the rate ranged from 0,7 cases per 1000 births in the District of Columbia to 48,6 cases in Vermont. The prevalence of opioid abuse also exceeded 30 per 1000 births in West Virginia in 2014; On the opposite end of the spectrum was Nebraska, which had the second-lowest rate among the regions analyzed, at 1,2 cases per 1000 births.

The average increase in opioid misuse among pregnant women was lowest in California and Hawaii, where the annual increase was less than 0,1 per 1000 births; and the highest in the states of Maine, New Mexico, Vermont and West Virginia - where the increase was more than 2,5 cases per 1000 births annually.

According to CDC experts, these figures may correlate with state policies on opioid use. As of July 2018, the legislation of eight US states have a requirement for medical professionals to screen pregnant women for opioid use if they become suspicious. State and District 24 require physicians to report suspected drug abuse among pregnant women to authorities. State and District 23 classify psychoactive substance use during pregnancy as child abuse; State 3s view such behavior as the basis for the compulsory treatment of a pregnant woman in a mental hospital.

However, CDC researchers have noted that state harsh policies on this issue may force women to try to hide the use of psychoactive substances from doctors taking birth and leading pregnancy.

Opioids have become an epidemic

In the 1960s, more than 80% of patients treated for opioid abuse were men living in cities, primarily their addiction was caused by heroin use. But by 2010, most of the patients in such programs were women, often middle-class, living in both urban and rural areas, 90% of them were white.

An opioid epidemic has affected everyone, even pregnant women.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that all pregnant women be screened for the use of narcotic substances at the first prenatal visit to treat opioid dependence and to provide women with psychiatric support.

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