Recovering and Expecting: Why Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Are the Gold Standard During Pregnancy

Featuring

[Moderator] Stacey McKenna, Resident Senior Fellow, Integrated Harm Reduction, R Street Institute

[Moderator] Courtney Joslin, Resident Fellow and Senior Manager, Project for Women and Families, R Street Institute

Joelle Puccio, RN, Co-Founder and Director of Education, Academy of Perinatal Harm Reduction

Mishka Terplan, MD, Medical Director and Senior Research Scientist, Friends Research Institute

Rachel Ann Hernandez, Patient Partner/Person with Lived Experience

Overview

Parental substance use is a leading cause for placement of children into foster care in the United States. For parents and parents-to-be who struggle with opioid use disorder, medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) offer the most effective route to recovery. Methadone and buprenorphine lessen the parent’s likelihood of relapse or overdose and are safe for both the mother and the developing fetus. This treatment option can ultimately benefit both parents and children by keeping families together. 

However, state laws on child endangerment and parental substance use are murky when it comes to MOUD, and they can actively discourage people from seeking healthcare—including both evidence-based treatment and prenatal care—while pregnant.

Join us for a virtual discussion with experts on topics that include the safety of MOUD during pregnancy, long-term health outcomes for parents taking MOUD and their children, and how state laws affect treatment options.