• Barbara St Marie, Lastascia Coleman, Julie A Vignato, Stephan Arndt, and Lisa S Segre.
• College of Nursing, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Electronic address: barbara-stmarie@uiowa.edu.
• Pain Manag Nurs. 2020 Feb 1; 21 (1): 90-93.

BackgroundThe use and misuse of opioid pain medication is a public health problem that has extended to pregnant women. Assessing both the use and misuse of opioid pain medication had been limited.AimsThe aim of the present study was to disseminate data from a national sample of pregnant and nonpregnant women, tracking the rate and predictors of opioid use and misuse.MethodsIn 2015 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health expanded the assessment of opioid pain reliever use and misuse. Here, a secondary analysis of 2 years of National Survey on Drug Use and Health expanded data assesses the use and misuse of opioids in pregnant and nonpregnant women ranging in age from 18 to 44 years (N = 46,229).ResultsOpioid medication use was reported by 31.89% of pregnant women and 38.87% of nonpregnant women. Race and pregnancy status were associated with risk, with pregnancy being protective and White women having significantly higher risk.ConclusionsThe high rates of use and misuse of opioids in pregnant women underscores a critical need for screening for opioid use and misuse, particularly among White women. Pregnancy provides a unique window of opportunity to educate, screen, and provide treatment.Copyright © 2020 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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