Filling Opioid Prescriptions Linked to New Persistent Use Among Women Following Childbirth

Women who received opioid prescriptions immediately before or following childbirth and had a cesarean delivery had a 2.2 percent rate of new persistent opioid use, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in JAMA Network Open. Persistent opioid use is defined as filling one or more prescriptions up to one year after discharge. Women with opioid prescriptions who had a vaginal delivery had a 1.7 percent new opioid use rate. Both rates are significantly higher than those for women who were not prescribed opioids before or after childbirth (1 percent for cesarean deliveries, and 0.5 percent for vaginal deliveries), the study found. Researchers examined 2008–2016 data on the rates of new persistent opioid use among 308,000 women with no prior opioid use and who received a pregnancy-related opioid prescription immediately before, during or after delivery. Filling an opioid prescription before delivery was the strongest factor associated with new persistent opioid use. While opioid prescribing among this population has declined since 2008, careful prescribing and risk assessment could further reduce use after childbirth, according to researchers. Access the abstract.