Reasons for past abortions among women in treatment for opioid use disorder.

OBJECTIVE: The main reasons women in the general population seek abortion are financial, timing, and partner-related reasons. While women with opioid use disorder (OUD) appear to use abortion services more than women in the general population, reasons for abortion in this group have not been examined to our knowledge. METHOD: Female patients aged 18-50 years in OUD treatment at 22 randomly selected facilities in Michigan were surveyed. The survey included items assessing reproductive health history. Women who reported having one or more abortions were asked to think back to that time and their reasons for choosing abortion. Twenty potential reasons and a write-in option were offered; women could endorse as many as applied. RESULTS: Of 260 women surveyed, 84 reported having an abortion. Of these, most (77.4%) reported multiple reasons for having an abortion. The most common reasons for having an abortion were not having money to take care of a baby (54.8%), feeling too young to have a child and not feeling ready to be a mother (both 42.9%), not loving the father and other partner-related concerns (25.0%-32.1%), and having concerns about the effects of their drug use (28.6%). No combination of reasons for abortion emerged as more prevalent than any other. CONCLUSIONS: Like women in the general population, women in treatment for OUD had not only abortions because of financial, timing, and partner-related reasons but also concerns about the effects of their drug use. These results underscore the multiple and often interrelated reasons that lead women to seek abortion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Prevalence of psychosocial issues among pregnant women who do and do not use illicit substances.

OBJECTIVE: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends providers screen their prenatal patients for 11 psychosocial issues because they affect patient mental and physical well-being. The prevalence and co-occurrence of these issues have rarely been compared among pregnant women who do and do not report recent illicit substance use. METHOD: Seven psychosocial issues identified by ACOG were operationalized using National Survey on Drug Use and Health variables. We report weighted prevalence and adjusted risk ratios (ARR) for these issues in pregnant women who did versus did not report past-month illicit substance use. RESULTS: Pregnant women (n = 3,657) who reported past-month illicit substance use (6.3%; 95% CI [5.4-7.3]) had significantly higher prevalence of almost all psychosocial issues examined, including past-month cigarette smoking (44.9% versus 9.5%; ARR = 2.84, 95% CI [2.21-3.65]); past-month alcohol use, 36.1% versus 7.9%; ARR = 4.71 (3.59-6.18); serious past-month distress, 23.0% versus 5.0%; ARR = 3.51 (2.39-5.15); no health insurance, 11.7% versus 6.2%; ARR = 1.71 (1.07-2.74); and receipt of food stamps, 45.0% versus 24.0%; ARR = 1.40 (1.18-1.67). Moving 3 + times in the past year followed a similar pattern, but results were compatible with there being no difference, 10.6% versus 5.5%; ARR = 1.39 (0.86-2.25). The majority of pregnant women reporting illicit substance use endorsed experiencing ≥ 2 psychosocial issues while the majority of those who did not report illicit substance use did not endorse any. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women who use illicit substances experience higher prevalence and greater co-occurrence of psychosocial issues compared to those who do not, reinforcing recommendations for multidisciplinary approaches to care. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Contingency management interventions for abstinence from cigarette smoking in pregnancy and postpartum: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Contingency management is one of the most effective treatments for substance use disorders in not-pregnant people. The most recent quantitative review of its efficacy among pregnant and postpartum women who smoke cigarettes concluded with moderate certainty that those receiving contingent financial incentives were twice as likely to be abstinent compared with controls. We aimed to update and extend previous reviews. Five databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before December 2022 that assessed the effectiveness of incentives for abstinence from substance use. Data from trials of smoking abstinence were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis model (restricted maximum likelihood). Results are reported as risk-ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). This study is registered with PROSPERO, CRD42022372291. Twelve RCTs (3136) pregnant women) were included. There was high certainty evidence that women receiving incentives were more likely to be abstinent than controls at the last antepartum assessment (12 RCTs; RR = 2.43, 95% CI 2.04-2.91, n = 2941, I2 = 0.0%) and moderate certainty evidence at the longest postpartum assessment while incentives were still available (five RCTs; RR = 2.72, 1.47-5.02, n = 659, I2 = 44.5%), and at the longest postpartum follow-up after incentives were discontinued (six RCTs; RR = 1.93, 1.08-3.46, n = 1753, I2 = 51.8%). Pregnant women receiving incentives are twice as likely to achieve smoking abstinence during pregnancy suggesting this intervention should be standard care for pregnant women who smoke. The results also demonstrate that abstinence continues into the postpartum period, including after incentives are discontinued, but more trials measuring outcomes in the postpartum period are needed to strengthen this conclusion.

Prevalence of Psychosocial Issues Among Pregnant Women Who Do and Do Not Use Illicit Substances.

Objective It is often believed that pregnant women who use illicit substances are more likely to experience psychosocial issues like smoking, depression, and inadequate health care compared to pregnant women who do not. However, the prevalence of these psychosocial issues has rarely been calculated and compared using nationally representative data. Methods Important psychosocial issues identified by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were operationalized using variables in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We report weighted prevalence and age-adjusted odds ratios for these issues in pregnant women who did vs. did not report past-month illicit substance use. Results Pregnant women (n = 3,657) who reported past-month illicit substance use (6.3%; 95% CI 5.4-7.0) had significantly higher rates of almost all psychosocial issues examined, including past-month cigarette smoking (44.9% vs. 6.5%; age-adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 7.14 (95% CI 4.98-10.20)); past-month alcohol use (36.1% vs. 7.8%; AOR = 6.80 (4.69, 9.86)); serious past-month distress (23.0% vs. 5.0%; AOR = 4.99 (3.07-8.11)); no health insurance (11.7% vs. 6.2%; AOR = 1.79 (1.07-2.99)); and receipt of food stamps (45.0% vs. 24.0%; AOR = 2.26 (1.55-3.29)). Moving 3 + times in the past year followed a similar pattern, but results were compatible with there being no difference between groups (10.6% vs. 5.5%; AOR = 1.59 (0.95-2.66)). In contrast to other issues examined, English language proficiency was higher among those who reported illicit substance use (4.7% vs. 0.4%; AOR = 0.08 (0.01-0.63)). Conclusions Pregnant women who use illicit substances experience higher rates of most psychosocial issues compared to those who do not, reinforcing recommendations for multidisciplinary approaches to care.