Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retention of pregnant and postpartum women in a co-located addiction and obstetric care clinic

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-9-2026

Publication Title

J Substance Use

Keywords

Opioid use disorder, pregnancy, COVID-19, integrated care, telehealth

Abstract

Background: Pregnant women with opioid use disorders (OUD) are at specific risk for a variety of negative health outcomes. Co-locating addiction medicine and obstetric care services is a promising approach to engaging and retaining individuals in care across the postpartum period. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, impacted individuals’ access to in-person medical care, requiring an abrupt transition to the use of telehealth services, potentially impacting the patient-provider relationship and treatment retention.

Methods: The current study examined rates of attendance for both obstetric and addiction medicine appointments in one co-located Midwestern clinic before the pandemic (prior to offering telehealth services) and during the pandemic (when all appointments utilized telehealth). Qualitative interviews with pregnant women with OUD (n = 5) were also conducted to evaluate experiences of care during the pandemic.

Results: Results did not find significant changes in rates of engagement in treatment in clinic services. Moreover, participants reported that telehealth services increased ease of treatment engagement and did not impact the overall perceived quality of services. Participants also identified concerns regarding the lack of privacy as a potential drawback to telehealth.

Conclusions: Findings provide preliminary support for the feasibility of conducting integrated addiction medicine-obstetric services using telehealth even after pandemic restrictions are released.

PubMed ID

Not assigned.

First Page

1

Last Page

7

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