Pregnancy, Opioid Use Disorder, and Polysubstance Use: A Rising Tide?

Among women of reproductive age with opioid use disorder, about 90% report using other substances (i.e., polysubstance use). To assess whether this is also true during pregnancy, investigators reviewed U.S. delivery hospitalizations between 2007 and 2016, of which 172,335 involved women with opioid use disorder.

Most women were non-Hispanic white (74%) and insured by Medicaid (80%). Overall, 62% used drugs other than opioids, most commonly tobacco (54%). Use of tobacco and amphetamines was common in rural counties, while alcohol and cocaine were more common in urban counties. The percentage of women with polysubstance use rose from 60% to 64% during the study period, with the largest increases in tobacco and amphetamine use. Alcohol use was …