JAMA Health Forum

PAS 2025: Buprenorphine linked to improved maternal-infant outcomes

April 30, 2025

Buprenorphine treatment during pregnancy is associated with improved maternal and infant health outcomes, challenging the stigma and barriers to treatment access for pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD). These findings, presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, support the integration of buprenorphine into prenatal care protocols to enhance maternal-infant health.

Study details: This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from 14,463 pregnant women (median maternal age, 27 years) diagnosed with OUD, with 51.6% receiving buprenorphine treatment during pregnancy. Researchers utilized Medicaid claims data to assess maternal and infant health outcomes.

Results: Among 14,463 maternal-infant dyads, 51.6% received buprenorphine. Treated dyads had lower rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes (25.4% vs. 30.8%; P<.001), severe maternal morbidity (5.4% vs. 6.9%; P<0.001), preterm births (14.1% vs. 20.0%; P<0.001), and NICU admissions (15.2% vs. 17.2%; P=0.001). Adjusted analyses showed a 5.1 percentage point (pp) reduction (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.5-6.7) in adverse outcomes, with specific reductions for severe maternal morbidity (1.2 pp; 95% CI, 0.4-2.1 pp), NICU admission (1.7 pp; 95% CI, 0.4-2.9 pp), and preterm birth (5.3 pp; 95% CI, 4.0-6.6 pp). The number needed to treat to prevent one adverse outcome was 20.

Source:

Krishnapura SR, et al. (2025, April 27). JAMA Health Forum. Buprenorphine Treatment in Pregnancy and Maternal-Infant Outcomes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40287986/