Continuity of Care: Opioid Treatment for Incarcerated New Mothers
Forced detox is never a good thing. We need to be offering treatment across the life course for patients with opioid use disorder. We need to not just be taking care of them, but we also need to be taking care of their children and their families, because without that stability, really you know, a medicine itself is not going to be enough.
Imagine facing the challenges of new motherhood while behind bars and struggling with opioid use disorder. In this episode of 'Addiction Medicine: Beyond the Abstract', Dr. Jessica Gray sheds light on a poignant case of a woman who continued opioid agonist treatment during the postpartum period, even while incarcerated. Hosted by Shawn McNeil, MD, this conversation dives into the hurdles and triumphs of providing consistent care in a system that typically halts such treatments once pregnancy ends. Dr.
Gray, a family medicine physician and addiction specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, shares her insights on the importance of advocacy and the need for strong collaboration between medical teams, hospitals, and correctional facilities. By listening to this episode, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how essential continuity of care is for vulnerable populations and why it matters so much for both the health of the mother and her newborn.
Whether you're a healthcare provider, an advocate, or someone interested in addiction recovery, this episode offers a compelling look at how we can better support incarcerated women and their families.