Methamphetamine Use Among Pregnant Women

OBJECTIVE: To estimate trends in the prevalence of methamphetamine treatment during pregnancy in the United States. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Treatment Episode Data Set, an administrative data set that captures admissions to federally funded treatment centers in the United States. Demographic and treatment-related measures were examined among women admitted for methamphetamine use and stratified by year of admission to assess trends over time. RESULTS: From 1994 to 2006 there were 245,970 pregnant women admitted. In 1994, methamphetamine accounted for 8% of admitted pregnant women, rising to 24% by 2006. This proportion was higher than methamphetamine admissions among both nonpregnant women (12%) and men (7%). The majority of methamphetamine admissions occurred in the West (73%) among white (64%) unemployed (88%) women. Over the time of analysis, women admitted for methamphetamine treatment became sicker (measured by increasing co-occurring psychiatric disorders) and more marginalized (measured by increasing dependent-living situations and criminal justice involvement). CONCLUSION: Methamphetamine has become the primary substance compelling treatment during pregnancy. Our findings suggest a need for more effective drug and alcohol screening by clinicians who are positioned to identify and address such concerns outside the criminal justice system. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.