Issues in reproductive health and empowerment in perinatal women with substance use disorders

This article describes perinatal drug dependent women's perspectives on pregnancy, contraception, knowledge of reproductive health, and communication with sexual partners. In this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with perinatal residential substance abuse treatment participants (n = 36) regarding their life experiences in the time just prior to drug treatment. Using an analytic framework to examine life dimensions, an analysis of the biological and sociocultural dimensions and their effects was conducted, which indicated that pregnancy and motherhood were motivational for women to enter treatment and seek prenatal care. In addition, the data showed that the women were poorly informed about their reproductive health status and contraception and experienced difficulty communicating about these issues with male partners. Recommendations for drug treatment and health care systems include strategies for: (1) expansion of women's empowerment in recovery to include knowledge and decision-making skills regarding their reproductive health status and (2) development of cross-disciplinary activities aimed at outreach, screening, and assessment of drug dependent women.