A recent study conducted in January has unveiled a shocking revelation: mortality rates for pregnant women and new mothers have worsened during the pandemic, and a new study has focused on one specific cause—overdoses. Researchers with the National Institute on Drug Abuse have delved into the data, reviewing over 17,000 deaths between 2018 and 2021. According to a report by STAT, the study group included approximately 1,500 pregnant and postpartum overdose deaths, 4,800 non-overdose maternal deaths, and 11,200 non-pregnant overdose deaths. Their study, published in JAMA Psychiatry on Wednesday, found that the mortality ratio linked to overdoses more than tripled among pregnant and postpartum women ages 35 to 44, escalating from 4.9 per 100,000 mothers with a live birth in January 2018 to June 2018, to 15.8 in July 2021 to December 2021.
As reported by the Washington Post, the majority of these overdoses involved opioids, with fentanyl being the chief among them. The researchers highlighted that the majority of pregnancy-associated overdose deaths occurred outside healthcare settings, indicating a dire need for strengthening community outreach and maternal medical support. They conclude that “evidence-based interventions are urgently needed at individual, healthcare, local, and national levels, along with nonpunitive approaches incentivizing pregnant and postpartum women to seek substance use disorder treatments.”
In relation to the latter point, the Washington Post spoke with an epidemiologist who elaborated on the issue: “For a lot of pregnant and postpartum people, disclosing drug use might result in your child being taken away, so there is a lot of stigma beyond just the standard amount of stigma you get.”
