Michigan health care leaders are developing strategies to curb opioid use by pregnant women.
Michigan ranks seventh in the nation in opioid related fatalities in pregnant women.
Between 2004 and 2014, cases of Michigan babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, the result of a mother’s drug use while her baby is in utero, rose 800 percent.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is employing a number of grants to combat the opioid epidemic.
Michigan State Medical Society president Dr. Cheryl Gibson Fountain is optimistic about the future of treating opioid patients.
I see that we are in a good place and we are really making an impact and working collaboratively," she says. "I think we’re in a good place to take care of our patients much better.”
Programming is being developed to support case management, outreach and education for pregnant women in opioid treatment programs.
