Opioid-exposed newborns were 41% more likely to be discharged home from the hospital with their biological mother when the mothers receive medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy, according to a study published by on July 12. The study—lead by researchers from Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health and Vanderbilt University—analyzed the outcomes for all of the reported opioid-exposed infants born at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee between March 1, 2018 and January 1, 2022, who were a gestational age of at least 35 weeks and without critical illness. Stephen Patrick, MD, the study's senior author and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Rollins, highlights the significance of this research and the existing barriers that need to be addressed to ensure future newborns have an equitable opportunity to return home with their biological mothers.
What inspired this study and what did it show? Infants are the fastest growing group in the U.S. foster system today of any group of children and most of that is due to parental substance use.
So, we wanted to understand if women who received treatment for during pregnancy treatment were more likely to leave the hospital with their child as opposed to that child being placed in foster care or with a family member. We found that engaging in treatment is associated with a reduction in the risk of having your baby end up in foster care. This is significant for.