Obstetricians' prescribing practices for pain management after delivery.

We wanted to look at the way opioid pain drugs are provided to mothers after the birth of their children and see what doctors tell mothers about the pain drugs. We interviewed doctors and asked which opioid pain drug they would choose, what made them prescribe the drug, the thoughts about giving mothers the drug and what they told the mothers about the drug. We then looked at all the responses to look for patterns in how doctors gave pain drugs to mothers. Our team interviewed 38 doctors. Some key points were seen; first is that the choice of opioid pain drug, dose and number of pills prescribed was different from doctor to doctor; second is that whether the baby was delivered vaginally or by cesarean was the main factor upon which doctors based their decisions for giving opioid pain drugs. Whether a mother was taking medications that help with addiction, the doctor's assessment of the mother's pain and the doctor's thoughts on the mother's risk of opioid addiction were also considered. All doctors would give opioid pain drugs to breastfeeding mothers. Finally, some doctors talked to mothers about using other medications for pain, but not about the overuse of opioid pain drugs. At our two hospital centers in Pennsylvania, the 38 doctors gave opioid pain drugs to mothers in 38 different ways. Doctors said that opioids are necessary after cesarean, but not after vaginal birth, unless there is a problem. A mother's history and social situation inform decision making. Doctors talk to mothers about short-term pain, but not about the overuse of opioid pain drugs.