Establishment of a liaison service for pregnant opiate-dependent women

A pregnancy liaison and outreach service was developed as part of a community drug team to attract pregnant drug‐dependent women into treatment. Women were provided with information on harm reduction, safer drug use and offered treatment for drug dependence. In total, 43 women (45 pregnancies) prese...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British Journal of Addiction 1992-06, Vol.87 (6), p.867-871
Main Authors: DAWE, SHARON, GERADA, CLAIRE, STRANG, JOHN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Behavior, Addictive - prevention & control
Behavior, Addictive - psychology
Behavior, Addictive - therapy
Biological and medical sciences
Drug addiction
England - epidemiology
Female
Health Promotion
HIV Infections
Humans
Inactivation, Metabolic
London - epidemiology
Medical sciences
Mental health
Methadone - therapeutic use
Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy
Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology
Opioid-Related Disorders - psychology
Pregnancy
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk-Taking
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
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Summary:A pregnancy liaison and outreach service was developed as part of a community drug team to attract pregnant drug‐dependent women into treatment. Women were provided with information on harm reduction, safer drug use and offered treatment for drug dependence. In total, 43 women (45 pregnancies) presented to the service over a 30‐month period. Thirty‐four women began out‐patient treatment of opiate dependence. There was a significant reduction in maternal methadone dose by delivery. Of the 45 pregnancies, four women had therapeutic abortions, two first trimester and two second trimester spontaneous abortions and 34 live births (three women remained untraceable). All the pregnancies that continued to the third trimester proceeded uneventfully with a consequent live birth. Mean gestational age was 37.9 ±3.7 weeks, mean birth weight was 2863 ± 526 g, 10 of the babies were small for gestational age. Fifteen babies required medication for neonatal withdrawal symptoms; mothers whose babies exhibited withdrawal symptoms were using significantly higher doses of methadone at delivery than mothers whose babies did not withdraw. The importance of providing this type of service for women drug users in the 1990s is discussed.
ISSN:0952-0481
0965-2140
2056-5178
DOI:10.1111/j.1360-0443.1992.tb01981.x