Guidance for Treating Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorder Released

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration today issued new clinical guidance for treating pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorder and their infants. The guidance consists of 16 factsheets containing clinical recommendations and resources to help health care professionals make evidence-informed decisions based on individual patient needs and local circumstances. “SAMHSA is filling an urgent need for reliable, useful and accurate information for health care professionals working to treat opioid-dependent mothers and their children,” said Elinore McCance-Katz, SAMHSA assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. “Ultimately, the steps explained in this guidance will help the mother and her infant safely receive treatment for opioid use disorder and neonatal abstinence syndrome.” In other news, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee today held a hearing on the opioid crisis and its impact on children and families. Witnesses included Stephen Patrick, M.D., a pediatrician and neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt in Nashville and an assistant professor of pediatrics and health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.