Prenatal Care for Women Who Are Addicted: Implications for Gender-Sensitive Practice

Abstract

This article examines legal and gender-sensitive interventions for prenatal drug abuse and the greater benefits that accrue to women when gender-sensitive approaches are used. It also discusses the disparate use of legal proceedings against poor women and women of color, pejorative attitudes and behaviors of prenatal health workers that compromise their relationship with women who are addicted, and sexist practices that place mothers who use drugs more at risk of legal interventions in health care settings than fathers who are addicted. Attention is given to the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision that makes it unlawful for health care providers to conduct involuntary drug tests of pregnant women who are suspected of drug use.