Substance Use in Pregnancy: Identifying Stigma and Improving Care

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a growing issue nationally, and SUD in pregnancy has significant consequences for mothers and their children. This article describes findings from a pilot project that used digital storytelling as a mechanism for understanding substance use and recovery from the perspective of women in recovery from SUD in pregnancy who worked as peer mentors with pregnant women currently experiencing SUD. Research on peer mentorship has primarily focused on outcomes for mentees but not the experience of the peer mentors themselves. In this qualitative study, a 3-day digital storytelling workshop was conducted with five women in recovery serving as peer mentors in their community. Each mentor also participated in an individual, in-depth interview. The digital storytelling workshop process helped peer mentors make linkages between their past substance use experiences to their present work of recovery, and fostered deep social connections between mentors through the shared experience. The workshop process also elicited a sense of hope among participants, which served as groundwork for developing advocacy-based efforts. Digital storytelling may be therapeutic for women in recovery and has the potential to be integrated into recovery programs to bolster hope and social support among participants.

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Approaching Substance Use in Pregnancy: Giving Brief Intervention a Chance

Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada ◽

10.1016/j.jogc.2020.06.015 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 (9) ◽

pp. 1069-1070

Author(s):

Lisa Graves

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Brief Intervention ◽

In Pregnancy

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Is intimate partner violence more common in pregnant women with severe mental illness? A retrospective study

International Journal of Social Psychiatry ◽

10.1177/0020764019897286 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 225-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Liana Suparare ◽

Stuart J Watson ◽

Ray Binns ◽

Jacqueline Frayne ◽

Megan Galbally

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Substance Use ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Psychotic Disorders ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Illicit Substance Use ◽

In Pregnancy

Objective: To examine the risk of past and current experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) in women with severe mental illness (SMI) in pregnancy. Methods: We examined past and current experiences of IPV in women with SMI in pregnancy. The data of 304 women with SMI including schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders and Bipolar Disorder meeting International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM) criteria were extracted from hospital records at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Western Australia. Comparisons were made between our study data and the Australian population data reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which included data on pregnant women in Western Australia. Additional measures included reported demographics, substance use and pregnancy variables. Results: Around 48% of pregnant women with SMI had experienced IPV and were three times the risk when compared with the general pregnant population in Australia. There was no difference in rates of IPV in those women with psychotic disorders when compared with bipolar disorder. Furthermore, the rates of smoking and illicit substance use were significantly higher in pregnant women with SMI who experienced IPV compared with those who have not experienced IPV. Conclusion: These findings suggest women with SMI in pregnancy are at significantly higher risk of having experienced or experiencing IPV. In addition, IPV in pregnant women with SMI may increase the risk of smoking and illicit substance use. Together this suggests that maternity and mental health services should ensure there are both screening and support pathways for IPV that are developed and evaluated specifically for pregnant women with SMI.

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The Presence and Consequences of Abortion Aversion in Scientific Research Related to Alcohol Use during Pregnancy

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16162888 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (16) ◽

pp. 2888 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sarah C.M. Roberts

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Substance Use ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Pregnancy Outcome ◽

State Policies ◽

Chronic Alcoholic ◽

State Policymaking ◽

Abstinence From Alcohol ◽

The U.S ◽

In Pregnancy

Recent research has found that most U.S. state policies related to alcohol use during pregnancy adversely impact health. Other studies indicate that state policymaking around substance use in pregnancy—especially in the U.S.—appears to be influenced by an anti-abortion agenda rather than by public health motivations. This commentary explores the ways that scientists’ aversion to abortion appear to influence science and thus policymaking around alcohol and pregnancy. The three main ways abortion aversion shows up in the literature related to alcohol use during pregnancy include: (1) a shift from the recommendation of abortion for “severely chronic alcoholic women” to the non-acknowledgment of abortion as an outcome of an alcohol-exposed pregnancy; (2) the concern that recommendations of abstinence from alcohol use during pregnancy lead to terminations of otherwise wanted pregnancies; and (3) the presumption of abortion as a negative pregnancy outcome. Thus, abortion aversion appears to influence the science related to alcohol use during pregnancy, and thus policymaking—to the detriment of developing and adopting policies that reduce the harms from alcohol during pregnancy.

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