Prevalence of Psychosocial Issues Among Pregnant Women Who Do and Do Not Use Illicit Substances

OBJECTIVE: It is often believed that pregnant women who use illicit substances are more likely to experience psychosocial issues like smoking, depression, and inadequate health care compared to pregnant women who do not. However, the prevalence of these psychosocial issues has rarely been calculated and compared using nationally representative data. METHODS: Important psychosocial issues identified by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists were operationalized using variables in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We report weighted prevalence and age-adjusted odds ratios for these issues in pregnant women who did vs. did not report past-month illicit substance use. RESULTS: Pregnant women (n = 3,657) who reported past-month illicit substance use (6.3%; 95% CI 5.4–7.0) had significantly higher rates of almost all psychosocial issues examined, including past-month cigarette smoking (44.9% vs. 6.5%; age-adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 7.14 (95% CI 4.98–10.20)); past-month alcohol use (36.1% vs. 7.8%; AOR = 6.80 (4.69, 9.86)); serious past-month distress (23.0% vs. 5.0%; AOR = 4.99 (3.07–8.11)); no health insurance (11.7% vs. 6.2%; AOR = 1.79 (1.07–2.99)); and receipt of food stamps (45.0% vs. 24.0%; AOR = 2.26 (1.55–3.29)). Moving 3 + times in the past year followed a similar pattern, but results were compatible with there being no difference between groups (10.6% vs. 5.5%; AOR = 1.59 (0.95–2.66)). In contrast to other issues examined, English language proficiency was higher among those who reported illicit substance use (4.7% vs. 0.4%; AOR = 0.08 (0.01–0.63)). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women who use illicit substances experience higher rates of most psychosocial issues compared to those who do not, reinforcing recommendations for multidisciplinary approaches to care.