Report on Hospital Births Measures Stay Rates and Related Outcomes Among Women With Substance Use Disorder

Almost 92,000 hospital deliveries in 2016 involved a mother with a substance use disorder (SUD), and deliveries involving opioids were far more common than those involving cocaine or other stimulants, a new AHRQ analysis shows. Previous research has shown babies born to mothers who use opioids or stimulants during pregnancy are often born prematurely and with low birth weights. Use of cocaine and other stimulants can cause maternal migraines and seizures, as well as lead to hypertensive crises. The new data were drawn from AHRQ’s Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, a family of databases that features the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States. According to the analysis, SUD-related deliveries involving opioids (7.6 per 1,000 deliveries) were more common than those involving cocaine (1.5 per 1,000) and other stimulants (2.8 per 1,000). The rate of SUD-related deliveries was higher for patients from rural areas (about 36 per 1,000 deliveries) than from urban areas (about 23 per 1,000). Access the statistical brief.