The Impact of a Multidisciplinary Opioid Use Disorder Prenatal Clinic on Breastfeeding Rates and Postpartum Care

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the hypothesis that patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), who receive prenatal care in a multidisciplinary, prenatal OUD clinic, have comparable postpartum breastfeeding rates, prenatal and postpartum visit compliance, and postpartum contraceptive use when compared with matched controls without a diagnosis of OUD. Study Design This was a retrospective, matched, cohort study that included all patients who received prenatal care in a multidisciplinary, prenatal OUD clinic—Clinic for Acceptance Recovery and Empowerment (CARE)—between September 2018 and August 2020. These patients were maintained on opioid agonist therapy (OAT) throughout their pregnancy. CARE patients were matched to controls without OUD in a 1:4 ratio for mode of delivery, race, gestational age ± 1 week, and delivery date ± 6 months. The primary outcome was rate of exclusive breastfeeding at maternal discharge. Secondary outcomes included adherence with prenatal care (≥4 prenatal visits), adherence with postpartum care (≥1 postpartum visit), postpartum contraception plan prior to delivery, and type of postpartum contraceptive use. Conditional multivariate logistic regression was used to account for possible confounders in adjusted calculations. Results A total of 210 patients were included (42 CARE and 168 matched controls). Despite having lower rates of adequate prenatal care, 40 CARE patients (95%) were exclusively breastfeeding at discharge resulting in CARE patients being significantly more likely to be breastfeeding at discharge (adjusted relative risk (aRR): 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05–1.55). CARE patients and controls demonstrated no difference in postpartum visit compliance (86 vs. 81%, aRR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.76–1.40) or effective, long-term contraception use (48 vs. 48%; aRR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.36–1.84). Conclusion In the setting of multidisciplinary OUD prenatal care during pregnancy, patients with OUD were more likely to be breastfeeding at the time of discharge than matched controls, with no difference in postpartum visit compliance or effective, long-term contraception. Key Points