Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Sep;32(9):899-904.
doi: 10.1089/jwh.2023.0341. Epub 2023 Aug 8.

Polysubstance Use in Pregnancy: Surveillance, Interventions, and Next Steps

Youngjoo Park  1   2 , Elizabeth P Dang  1 , Amy Board  1 , Suzanne M Gilboa  1 , Steven J Ondersma  3 , Marcela C Smid  4 , Julie H Shakib  5 , Kathleen T Mitchell  6 , Lucinda J England  1 , Cheryl S Broussard  1 , Dana Meaney-Delman  1 , John Iskander  7 , Shin Y Kim  1
Affiliations
Review

Polysubstance Use in Pregnancy: Surveillance, Interventions, and Next Steps

Youngjoo Park et al. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Substance use during pregnancy increases risk for a wide range of adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Polysubstance use is common among people who use substances during pregnancy; however, the risks of combined substance exposures during pregnancy are poorly understood. In this report, we provide an overview of the activities of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and partners and identified gaps related to (1) surveillance, (2) routine screening, and (3) prevention of polysubstance use during pregnancy. Efforts by CDC and other partners to reduce polysubstance use during pregnancy can improve the health of pregnant people and their infants and children.

Keywords: alcohol; opioids; polysubstance use; pregnancy; prenatal substance exposure; smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Detailed Tables. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Rockville, MD; 2021.
    1. Qato DM, Zhang C, Gandhi AB, et al. Co-use of alcohol, tobacco, and licit and illicit controlled substances among pregnant and non-pregnant women in the United States: Findings from 2006 to 2014 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data. Drug Alcohol Depend 2020; 206:107729; doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2019.107729 - DOI - PubMed
    1. England LJ, Bennett C, Denny CH, et al. Alcohol use and co-use of other substances among pregnant females aged 12–44 years: United States, 2015–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2020;69:1009–1014; doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6931a1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jarlenski M, Barry CL, Gollust S, et al. Polysubstance use among US women of reproductive age who use opioids for nonmedical reasons. Am J Public Health 2017;107:1308–1310; doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.303825 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wendell AD. Overview and epidemiology of substance abuse in pregnancy. Clin Obstet Gynecol 2013;56:91–96; doi: 10.1097/GRF.0b013e31827feeb9 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types