Advancing Preventive Interventions for Pregnant Women Who Are Opioid Using via the Integration of Addiction and Mental Health Research

• Published in: Current addiction reports Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 61 - 67
• Main Authors: Mackiewicz Seghete, Kristen L., Graham, Alice M., Shank, Taylor M., Alsup, Shelby L., Fisher, Philip A., Wilson, Anna C., Feldstein Ewing, Sarah W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.03.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Addictions; Addictive behaviors; Babies; Behavior modification; Brain research; Cognition & reasoning; Comorbidity; Drug therapy; Drug use; Drug withdrawal; Intervention; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental health; Methadone; Narcotics; Neurology; Opioids (S Yip and A Konova; Parents & parenting; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Psychiatry; Section Editors; Stress; Topical Collection on Opioids; Womens health; Pregnancy; Perinatal mental health; Opioid use disorder; Opioid use; Postpartum mental health; opioid use disorder; postpartum mental health; perinatal mental health; pregnancy; opioid use
• ISSN: 2196-2952; 2196-2952
• DOI: 10.1007/s40429-020-00296-x

Purpose of Review This review examines how research focused on treatment for opioid use in perinatal populations and preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology have remained separate, despite significant overlap. Recent Findings Guidelines for best practice in caring for pregnant women with opioid use disorder suggest the use of medication-assisted treatment with additional comprehensive care, including behavioral and mental health interventions. However, intervention research often mutually excludes these two populations, with studies of behavioral interventions for opioid use excluding women with psychopathology and research on preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology excluding women who are substance using. Summary There is a limited evidence-base to inform the selection of appropriate preventive interventions for pregnant women with opioid use disorder that can address opioid use and/or treatment adherence and concurrent mental health risks. We argue that it is critical to integrate research on pregnant women who are opioid using and preventive perinatal mental health interventions to catalyze pivotal change in how we address the opioid epidemic within this growing population.