According to a new analysis published by the CDC, the number of pregnant women with opioid use disorder in the hospital for delivery has more than quadrupled since 1999. In 1999, there were 1.5 pregnant women with opioid use disorder for every 1,000 delivery hospitalizations. By 2014, the rate had spiked to 6.5 cases of opioid use disorder per 1,000 delivery hospitalizations.
University of Alabama at Birmingham experts are available to comment on this epidemic. Addiction specialist Stefan Kertesz, M.D., can provide comments regarding public policy and health concerns for mothers, while Lorie Harper, M.D., director of UAB's Comprehensive Addiction in Pregnancy Program, can speak to effective treatments that help enable this at-risk population to lead healthy, successful pregnancies and lives.
"A large rise in the prevalence of opioid addiction in the U.S. will manifest itself in pregnant women just as much as it will in any other population," said Kertesz.
The UAB News Studio is available for live or recorded HD video interviews with UAB experts worldwide through LTN Global Networks. The studio is equipped with an ISDN line for digital radio interviews.
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