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Therapeutic opioid use is common, yet its teratogenic potential is not well understood. To address this issue in the context of maternal opioid analgesia before and during the first trimester, researchers used data from the U.S. National Birth Defects Prevention Study (an ongoing population-based case-control study of major structural birth defects). More than 17,000 cases were identified through standardized birth-defect surveillance; 6700 controls consisted of infants without birth defects. In telephone interviews conducted between 6 weeks and 2 years postpartum, mothers in both groups reported medication use from 3 months before conceiving until delivery.
Maternal opioid use was reported by 2.6% of the case group and 2.0% of the control g…