Program helps expectant moms overcome opioid use
By Hamilton Kahn
Click here for updates on this story
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — Of special concern in the epidemic of fentanyl addiction are expectant mothers whose opioid use can be subject to harsh judgment instead of getting the help they need.
As with overcoming all addictions, a prerequisite is the determination to succeed, which cannot be done alone, and a multi-faceted program at the Lovelace Medical Group called GRACE — for Giving Respect and Compassion to the Expectant mom — combines acceptance, compassion and patience with nonjudgmental medical care for the mother and her unborn child.
When the GRACE program began, heroin was the predominant opioid addiction, but when Dr. Mario Pardo-Friedman, an OB-GYN, returned to Albuquerque after a stint in St. Louis, fentanyl had become a much bigger problem and the program needed reinvigoration.
“Managing opioid use disorder in pregnancy has been conclusively shown to significantly improve outcomes not just for the baby but for the mom as well,” Pardo-Friedman said, “and so our approach is, all we can do is offer a helping hand and provide that service to our patients. And when they take us up on it, they’re often pleasantly surprised that they get a lot of support and a lot of compassion just always comes to mind here. You know, they get treated like a decent, normal human being.”
Opioid addiction doesn’t discriminate based on age or class, Pardo-Friedman said. The youngest mothers-to-be are especially vulnerable, but addiction is primarily a mental health disorder for which all ages and socioeconomic classes are susceptible.
From a medical vantage point, use of street drugs poses the greatest risk for overdoses, Pardo-Friedman said.
“They’re much more likely to not get in for prenatal care,” Pardo-Friedman said. “They’re much more likely to be exposed to other substances and other conditions that could lead to fetal harm. That is not reversible. And so that’s one of the biggest goals of treatment during pregnancy, to prevent those knock-on effects that can happen when we don’t take care of those things. The data is clear — when we take care of mom, babies do better.”
Pardo-Friedman said that expectant mothers do have an advantage over many people with addictions, however.
“Many women are motivated because they feel this urgency to protect the unborn child inside, and that helps them,” Pardo-Friedman said. “But often they don’t feel like they have a sense of where to go. We are one of those places, that is We will welcome them with open arms.”
For more information about GRACE or to refer a patient, call 505-727-5000.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.