Recovery Coaches Help Pregnant Women with Substance Abuse Problems

A recent study from the University of Illinois took a look at how the use of a recovery coach may benefit pregnant women struggling with substance abuse problems.

In the study, recovery coaches – case workers with special training in addiction, relapse prevention, case management and counseling – were shown to reduce the number of future substance-exposed babies and increase the likelihood that mothers will be reunited with their children removed by child welfare systems.

Participants of the study included 931 women who had lost temporary custody of their children and were chronic substance abusers. Half of the women received basic child welfare and substance abuse services, while the other half had the same basic services plus a recovery coach. The recovery coach’s goal was to get mothers into substance abuse treatment and keep them there.

The findings showed that 21% of mothers receiving standard services gave birth to additional substance abuse babies, while only 15% of mothers with recovery coaches gave birth to subsequent substance abuse children. According to the study, which lasted 5 years, recovery coaches saved the state of Illinois $5.5 million in foster care and other placement costs.

Read more about the study on the About.com:Alcoholism website: Recovery Coaches Reduce Babies Exposed to Drugs For Women With Substance Abuse Problems

technorati tags: recovery coaches, Univesity of Illinois, substance abuse, pregnant women, child welfare

Early Prenatal Care and Substance Abuse Treatment Key for Pregnant Addicted Women

Everyone knows that women shouldn’t smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs while pregnant. For some women, though, these things are harder to give up than you’d think, even when they know there’s a human being developing inside their tummy. A recent study reports good news about pregnant women who also struggle with addiction.

The study involved 49,000 pregnant women in Kaiser Permanente’s prenatal care program. Reasearchers looked at the use of multiple substances among this population including cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamines, cocaine and heroin. Of the population, 2,073 women were enrolled in Kaiser Permanente’s prenatal substance abuse treatment program called Early Start.

The study’s findings showed that the outcomes for addicted women who received substance abuse treatment in conjunction with prenatal care were very similar to those women who did not use such substances. These positive outcomes were shown for mom and baby. The risk of complications normally attributed to substance use in pregnancy, such as low birth weight, preterm labor or delivery and stillbirth, were virtually the same in the non-addicted women and the women in the substance abuse treatment program.

This research shows that with early prenatal care and substance abuse treatment, pregnant women can have the same results as a women who doesn’t smoke, drink or use drugs in pregnancy. It also shows that addicted women who become pregnant need to reach out for help as soon as they find out about their pregnancy. While not many doctors offices have a program that includes both prenatal care and substance abuse treatment, many treatment agencies, like Crossroads for Women, will work in conjunction with a pregnant woman’s doctor, to ensure the healthiest pregnancy possible.

Read more

From WebMD: Kick Addictions for a Healthy Pregnancy

From Newswise: Treatment for Cigarette, Alcohol & Drug Use During Pregnancy Dramatically Improves Outcomes for Mom and Baby

technorati tags: pregnant, women, addiction, prenatal care, substance abuse treatment

Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol, Drugs and Tobbaco Affects Brain Into Adolescence

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Boston Medical Center have found that the effects of fetal exposure to alcohol, drugs and tobacco persist into early adolescence.

The study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans to the effects on brain structure into early adolescence. Participants of the study included 35 young adolescents, with an average age of 12, prenatally exposed to cocaine, marijuana, alcohol or tobacco. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome were excluded from the study.

“We found that reductions in cortical gray matter and total brain volumes were associated with prenatal exposure to cocaine, alcohol or cigarettes,” says Michael Rivkin, MD, first author on the study. “Importantly, although volume reductions were associated with each of these three prenatal exposures, they were not associated with any one of these substances alone after controlling for other exposures.” The more substances a child was exposed to in utero, the greater the reduction in brain volume.

More than 1 million babies born annually in the US have been exposed to drugs, alcohol or tobacco in utero, making the findings of this study significant. The researchers say that health care providers should offer pregnant women comprehensive care to help them reduce the use of all chemical substances that affect the brain.

The findings of this study were published in the April issue of Pediatrics.

Read More
From Children’s Hospital Boston: Your baby’s brain on drugs (and alcohol and tobacco)

From Pediatrics: Volumetric MRI Study of Brain in Children With Intrauterine Exposure to Cocaine, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Marijuana

Technorati Tags: pregnant women, drugs, cocaine, alcohol, prenatal exposure, brain, research