profession
Pregnant women addicted to drugs or alcohol need appropriate care
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 27, 2010
Incarcerating pregnant women or involuntarily committing them to mental health facilities for alcohol and drug abuse is ineffective and counterproductive, according to a new committee opinion by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Pregnant women who are addicted to drugs and seek health care often risk being jailed or involuntarily committed to a mental health facility due to some state laws that mandate physicians report such patients, according to the statement published online Dec. 20 in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The result is that such women often avoid prenatal care.
ACOG recommends physicians work with their state leaders to retract such laws and replace them with evidenced-based strategies outside the legal system that aim to help pregnant women overcome their addictions.
This content was published online only.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/12/27/prbf1227.htm.
