(Canton, Ohio) – Ongoing misuse of opioids during pregnancy is associated with a number of problems and CommQuest is making strides to offer services and support.
Opioid use during pregnancy can lead to a lack of prenatal care, poor nutrition, low birth rate, fetal death, preterm labor, and other problems. Using opioids during pregnancy can cause severe withdrawal in newborns, a condition called neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), and lead to lengthy and costly hospital stays, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Ninety-seven babies were hospitalized for NAS in Stark County from 2011 to 2015, according to the Ohio Department of Health. Ohio had 8,675 hospitalizations during the same period and averaged nearly six admissions a day in 2015. Treating newborns with NAS cost more than $133 million and the babies averaged 14 days in Ohio’s hospitals in 2015, according to Ohio Department of Health.
The goal of CommQuest’s Mom and Me Recovery program is to manage the expectant mother’s opioid use disorder with medication-assisted treatment, such as methadone or buprenorphine, said Robin Dockus, who coordinates medication-assisted treatment at CommQuest’s Canton site.
“It’s more dangerous for her to go cold turkey and stop and put herself and the fetus in withdrawal than it is if she gets started on one of our programs,” said Wendy Hunter, CommQuest’s senior director of ReCOR and Opiate Treatment Services. ”… She can’t white-knuckle this one.”
Funding for the MOMS program was made possible (in part) by the Ohio Opioid STR Project – 1H79T1080261-01 grant from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written materials or publications do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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