Complex Calculations: How Drug Use During Pregnancy Becomes a Barrier to Prenatal Care

Pregnant women who use drugs are more likely to receive little or no prenatal care. This study sought to understand how drug use and factors associated with drug use influence women’s prenatal care use. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted with a racially/ethnically diverse sample of low-income women using alcohol and drugs in a California county. Women using drugs attend and avoid prenatal care for reasons not connected to their drug use: concern for the health of their baby, social support, and extrinsic barriers such as health insurance and transportation. Drug use itself is a barrier for a few women. In addition to drug use, women experience multiple simultaneous risk factors. Both the drug use and the multiple simultaneous risk factors make resolving extrinsic barriers more difficult. Women also fear the effects of drug use on their baby’s health and fear being reported to Child Protective Services, each of which influence women’s prenatal care use. Increasing the number of pregnant women who use drugs who receive prenatal care requires systems-level rather than only individual-level changes. These changes require a paradigm shift to viewing drug use in context of the person and society and acceptance of responsibility for unintended consequences of public health bureaucratic procedures and messages about effects of drug use during pregnancy

Gender differences in the use of cardiovascular interventions in HIV-positive persons; the D:A:D Study

Peer reviewe

Clinical course of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes in the era of prophylactic antibiotics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Preterm prelabor rupture of membrane (PPROM) causes maternal and neonatal complications. Prophylactic antiobiotics were used in the management of PPROM. The objectives of this retrospective study were to compare clinical course and outcome of PPROM managed expectantly with prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids with those without prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 170 cases of singleton pregnant women with gestational age between 28–34 weeks suffering from PROM during January 1998 to December 2009 were included; 119 cases received prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids while 51 cases did not received prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids. Median latency period in the study group was significantly longer than in the control group (89.8 vs. 24.3 hours, P < 0.001). The percentage of patients who did not deliver within 48 hours and within 7 days in the study group were also significantly higher than in control group (64.7 vs. 31.4%, P < 0.001 and 29.4 vs. 7.8%, P = 0.002, respectively). Maternal infectious morbidity was comparable between groups (17.6% vs. 13.7%, P = 0.52). Neonatal infectious morbidity was significantly lesser in study group than control group (21% vs. 35.3%, p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Latency period of PPROM after using prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids increased while neonatal infectious morbidity was low. But maternal infectious morbidity was not increased. This retrospective study confirms the benefit of prophylactic antibiotics and antenatal corticosteroids in management of PPROM.</p