A Life-Changing Knock

By Meheret Mekonnen, MS

The fear of having a newborn taken away—this is a reality for many women who test positive for substances on a urine drug screen during pregnancy. The stigma and complications of substance use disorders are associated with insufficient prenatal care, inadequate nutrition, chronic medical conditions, and domestic violence.¹

Prenatal substance use and neonatal substance exposure have become pressing public health concerns. It is estimated that more than 4.4% of pregnant women in the United States use 1 or more substances during pregnancy.² Opioid use among pregnant women and cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome have risen alarmingly, with a 131% increase in opioid-related diagnoses during delivery hospitalizations from 2010 to 2017.² Each year, approximately 800,000 of the 4.3 million neonates born in the United States are exposed to illicit substances in utero.³ These statistics, along with countless patient testimonials, highlight the critical need for health care professionals to implement screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment as part of routine care.

One of the many challenges clinicians and institutions face is how to effectively screen pregnant patients. Many facilities still rely on unstandardized substance use screening, often in the form of urine toxicology testing. However, urine drug screens have demonstrated poor positive predictive value and reveal significant disparities in outcomes.⁴ Historically, unstandardized screening and disclosure practices have been shaped by provider bias, particularly against single women with poor psychological, financial, or social functioning; women with delivery complications; Black women; and those receiving care in public health settings.⁵

Leading organizations—including the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG)—strongly recommend standardizing substance use screening as part of comprehensive obstetric care.⁶ Validated screening tools such as the 5Ps (Parents, Peers, Partner, Pregnancy, Past) offer a structured approach to assessing alcohol and substance use during pregnancy.⁷

Critics of universal verbal screening cite concerns about patient honesty, staff burden, and time constraints. Yet, successful models demonstrate that integration into existing clinic workflows, engagement of multidisciplinary stakeholders, and support from institutional leadership can facilitate adoption and acceptance.⁸

More work is needed to address disparities in substance use screening and the broader public health challenge of prenatal substance exposure. However, universal verbal screening is a meaningful step toward building patient trust, mitigating provider bias, and promoting equity in prenatal care.⁹

References

1. Wendell AD. Overview and epidemiology of substance abuse in pregnancy. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2013;56(1):91–96. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/clinicalobgyn/FullText/2013/03000/Overview_and_Epidemiology_of_Substance_Abuse_in.15.aspx

2. Hirai AH, Ko JY, Owens PL, Stocks C, Patrick SW. Neonatal abstinence syndrome and maternal opioid-related diagnoses in the US, 2010–2017. JAMA. 2021;325(2):146–147.

3. Joseph R, Brady E, Hudson ME, Moran MM. Perinatal substance exposure and long-term outcomes in children: a literature review. 2020.

4. Chin JM, Chen E, Wright T, Bravo RM, Nakashima E, Kiyokawa M, et al. Urine drug screening on labor and delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM. 2022;4(6):100733. doi:10.1016/j.ajogmf.2022.100733

5. Madora M, Wetzler S, Jose A, Bernstein PS. Pregnant and postpartum people with substance use disorders: understanding the obstetrical care provider’s roles and responsibilities. Matern Child Health J. 2022;26(7):1409–1414.

6. Whittaker A. Guidelines for the identification and management of substance use and substance use disorders in pregnancy. By World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press; 2014. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2015;34(3):340–341.

7. Hostage JC, Brock J, Craig W, Sepulveda D. Integrating screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment for substance abuse into prenatal care [3L]. Obstet Gynecol. 2018;131:129S–130S.

8. Chasnoff IJ, Wells AM, McGourty RF, Bailey LK. Validation of the 4P’s Plus© screen for substance use in pregnancy. J Perinatol. 2007;27(12):744–748.

9. Ulrich M, Memmo EP, Cruz A, Heinz A, Iverson RE. Implementation of a universal screening process for substance use in pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;137(4):695–701.