Pregnancy-Related Risks May Be Lower With Buprenorphine for OUD vs Methadone

New Brunswick, New Jersey — Led by Elizabeth A. Suarez, PhD, MPH, from the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, new research may indicate a potential advantage of buprenorphine use for opioid-use disorder (OUD) during pregnancy instead of methadone. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were investigated among a cohort of pregnant women, with lower infant-related risks seen in connection with buprenorphine use.

Buprenorphine has already been shown to be of potential use for individuals soon to initiate treatment for OUD, and the current research utilized Medicaid data on such maternal-related outcomes as cesarean delivery and pregnancy complications and such infant-related outcomes as neonatal abstinence syndrome and low birth weight.

“It’s essential for the general public to understand the importance of OUD treatment during pregnancy to avoid harms associated with lack of treatment,” Suarez noted. “These results may guide clinical recommendations for people with OUD who are pregnant or are hoping to be pregnant.”

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