Pregnant women who receive treatment for substance abuse early in their pregnancy can achieve the same health outcomes as pregnant women with no substance abuse, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the Journal of Perinatology . The study, which is the largest to date, examined 49,985 women in Kaiser Permanente’s prenatal care program and found that integrating substance abuse screening and treatment into routine prenatal care helped pregnant women achieve similar health outcomes as women who were not using cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs. The women who went through the Early Start program had the same statistical risks of stillborn, preterm delivery, placental abruption as the control group of women who did not use any cigarettes, alcohol or drugs during their pregnancy. My message to all pregnant women, as well as women who are trying to conceive, is to stop all alcohol, cigarette and drug use. The program, which is in place in 40 Kaiser Permanente outpatient obstetric clinics in Northern California and being rolled out in other Kaiser Permanente facilities nationwide, screens nearly 40,000 women annually. read more

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