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Medication-Assisted Treatment For Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review Of The Evidence And Implications For Social Work Practice, Amber M. Holbrook, Viba H. Nguyen

Amber Holbrook

Evidence-based practice with pregnant clients who are opioiddependent can be especially challenging because pregnant women are rarely included in clinical trials. The paper synthesizes systematic reviews on the outcomes of medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependent pregnant women and compares the effectiveness of methadone and buprenorphine. We explore evidence on maternal and neonatal outcomes, the safety of breastfeeding, and discuss the implications for social work practice. Searches were conducted in 6 databases. Ten reviews met the inclusion criteria. Results suggest medication-assisted treatment with either methadone or buprenorphine are equally effective in reducing maternal substance use, although methadone may offer slightly higher …