Number of Pregnant Women on Narcotic Painkillers, Heroin Doubles, Study Finds
Number of Pregnant Women on Narcotic Painkillers, Heroin Doubles, Study Finds
By Tara Haelle
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The proportion of women dependent on drugs such as narcotic painkillers or heroin during pregnancy has more than doubled in the past decade and a half, a new study finds, though it still remains below a half-percent of all pregnancies.
The study covers a class of drugs known as opioids, which include prescription painkillers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) and Vicodin; morphine and methadone; as well as illegal drugs such as heroin.
Dependence on these drugs during pregnancy is linked to several increased risks during delivery, even when compared to women abusing or dependent on non-opiate drugs, explained study senior author Dr. Lisa Leffert, chief of the Obstetric Anesthesia Division at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Over recent years, experts have noted an alarming rise across the United States in abuse of narcotic prescription painkillers.
"This increase in opioid abuse and dependence in the pregnant population is happening along with that in the general population," Leffert said. "These women were more likely to deliver by cesarean and have extended hospital stays" compared to other pregnant women, she said.
The researchers analyzed national hospitalization data on nearly 57 million deliveries between 1998 and 2011. They looked specifically at pregnancy outcome risks linked to dependence on opioids. They accounted for differences in age, race, payer type (insurance), having multiple births, mothers' preexisting conditions and a past history of cesarean section.
Preexisting conditions included depression, which was five times higher among those with an opioid dependence, as well as alcohol dependence and non-opioid drug dependence, both of which were more than 20 times higher in women dependent on opioids.
According to the new analysis, the percentage of women dependent on opioids during pregnancy more than doubled during that time, from 0.17 percent in 1998 to 0.39 percent in 2011.
The increased risks for mothers dependent on methadone ranged from preterm labor and poor growth in the fetus to an increased risk of stillbirth and maternal death, though the latter were still very rare.
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Nov. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- The proportion of women dependent on drugs such as narcotic painkillers or heroin during pregnancy has more than doubled in the past decade and a half, a new study finds, though it still remains below a half-percent of all pregnancies.
The study covers a class of drugs known as opioids, which include prescription painkillers such as oxycodone (Oxycontin) and Vicodin; morphine and methadone; as well as illegal drugs such as heroin.
Dependence on these drugs during pregnancy is linked to several increased risks during delivery, even when compared to women abusing or dependent on non-opiate drugs, explained study senior author Dr. Lisa Leffert, chief of the Obstetric Anesthesia Division at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Over recent years, experts have noted an alarming rise across the United States in abuse of narcotic prescription painkillers.
"This increase in opioid abuse and dependence in the pregnant population is happening along with that in the general population," Leffert said. "These women were more likely to deliver by cesarean and have extended hospital stays" compared to other pregnant women, she said.
The researchers analyzed national hospitalization data on nearly 57 million deliveries between 1998 and 2011. They looked specifically at pregnancy outcome risks linked to dependence on opioids. They accounted for differences in age, race, payer type (insurance), having multiple births, mothers' preexisting conditions and a past history of cesarean section.
Preexisting conditions included depression, which was five times higher among those with an opioid dependence, as well as alcohol dependence and non-opioid drug dependence, both of which were more than 20 times higher in women dependent on opioids.
According to the new analysis, the percentage of women dependent on opioids during pregnancy more than doubled during that time, from 0.17 percent in 1998 to 0.39 percent in 2011.
The increased risks for mothers dependent on methadone ranged from preterm labor and poor growth in the fetus to an increased risk of stillbirth and maternal death, though the latter were still very rare.