Recent trends in treatment admissions for marijuana use during pregnancy

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate recent trends in substance abuse treatment admissions for marijuana use during pregnancy in the United States.

Methods: Data were obtained from the Treatment Episodes Data Set from 1992 to 2012 and analyzed for trends over time using χ, Cochran-Armitage, and Moran's I tests.

Results: The proportion of treatment admissions for women who were pregnant remained stable at 4%; however, admissions of pregnant women reporting any marijuana use increased substantially from 29% to 43% (P < 0.01). The West North Central census division (20%) experienced the greatest increase followed by the Middle Atlantic (18%) and Pacific (14%) divisions. The demographic characteristics of pregnant marijuana admissions changed over time, with white non-Hispanic women, criminal justice referrals, and those with a psychiatric comorbidity becoming more common whereas polysubstance users decreased (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Even though more women using marijuana are seeking and receiving substance abuse treatment during pregnancy, targeting certain risk groups while improving screening and treatment referral systems by health care providers, such as prenatal caregivers, should be emphasized.