October marks Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month. Maternal substance use disorder (SUD) is prevalent, highly stigmatized, and a significant contributor to the maternal mortality crisis.
It’s critical that obstetric and community-based providers understand these issues and that co-occurrence of substance use and maternal mental health disorders is common.1
Here are key highlights from our Maternal Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Fact Sheet:
- According to the CDC, suicide and overdose are leading causes of maternal mortality within the first year postpartum.2
- Those who are pregnant with illicit drug use disorders have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD, often using substances as a coping mechanism for underlying mental health issues.3
- Healthcare providers often lack training or feel uncomfortable treating perinatal substance use disorder.1
Resources from the Policy Center
- In a related blog post about the Overlapping Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder crisis, we highlight that mental health, substance use, and suicide are not crises in isolation, and offer a call to action.
- Efforts to improve care should include comprehensive SUD screening and integrated treatment. These recommendations are further outlined in our comments to the maternal mental health task force,
- We host a quarterly complimentary maternal SUD webinar, developed in partnership with our policy fellows from the Colorado Department of Public Health. This webinar supports recognition and effective and supportive response to SUDs during pregnancy and early parenthood, supporting the maternal-child dyad. You may view the recording here.
Additional Resources:
- SAMHSA Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month 2025 Toolkit
- Understanding the Impact of Stigma on Substance Use Disorder
#SubstanceUseAndMisusePreventionMonth #PreventionMonth #MaternalSUD #StoptheStigma
References
- Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. (2025, March). Substance Use Disorder and Maternal Mental Health [Fact Sheet]. https://www.doi.org/10.69764/SUDF2025 ↩︎
- American Psychiatric Association. (2023). Perinatal Mental Health Toolkit. https://www.psychiatry.org:443/psychiatrists/practice/professional-interests/women-s-mental-health/maternal-mental-health-toolkit ↩︎
- Behnke, M., Smith, V. C., Committee on Substance Abuse, & Committee on Fetus and Newborn. (2013). Prenatal substance abuse: Short- and long-term effects on the exposed fetus. Pediatrics, 131(3), e1009-1024. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-3931 ↩︎
