Social Work Today E-Zine

Pregnant women who receive treatment for substance abuse early in their pregnancy can achieve the same health outcomes as pregnant women with no substance abuse, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Perinatology.

“This program can happen everywhere and should become the gold standard for women who are pregnant and using cigarettes, alcohol, or other drugs,” says study lead author Nancy C. Goler, MD, an OB/GYN and Kaiser Permanente regional medical director of the Early Start Program for the organization’s Northern California operations. “The study’s big finding was that study participants treated in the Early Start program had outcomes similar to our control group, women who had no evidence of substance abuse.”

The study compared 2,073 pregnant women who were screened, assessed, and received ongoing intervention during pregnancy through the Early Start program from 1999 to 2003 to women in three other groups: 156 women who were screened but did not accept assessment or treatment; 1,203 women were screened, assessed, and received brief intervention only; and a control group of 46,553 women who showed no evidence of substance abuse.

The study found the risk of stillborn, placental abruption (when the placental lining separates from the mother’s uterus), preterm delivery, low birth weight, and neonatal ventilation were dramatically higher for the 156 untreated substance abusers than the 2,073 women in the Early Start program

“The sooner women ask for help, the better the health outcomes will be for themselves, and their babies. My message to all pregnant women, as well as women who are trying to conceive, is to stop all alcohol, cigarette, and drug use,” says Goler.

— Source: Kaiser Permanente