There now exists overwhelming evidence that drug screening/testing is in the best interest of the Physician when accepting any patient who is pregnant, or believes they may be pregnant, rather than relying on risk-based questionnaires.

• 30% of women fill an opioid prescription at some point during their pregnancy.
• 1 Baby is born with opiate withdrawal every 25 minutes
• 20% of pregnant women who pass the standard risk based questionnaire failed a urine screen and tested positive for opioids.
• 24% of pregnant women who pass the standard risk based questionnaire failed a urine screen and tested positive for substances other than opioids.

Drug testing/screening allows for a physician to open the conversation to help both the mother and baby because when an abuse issue continues unrecognized, the unborn baby suffers immensely.

Last year, 3.7 percent of babies born in the Cincinnati, Ohio region alone, were exposed to opioids, and a growing number of babies exposed to opioids have been developing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). That means they're born craving the drug their mom used, which leads to withdrawal symptoms that can take up to 48 hours to develop. This means that most of the time, when undiagnosed, newborns who are addicted are already home when their suffering begins.

When enacted as a universal policy on a scheduled basis, urinalysis can become the first step and the easiest step to begin the road to recovery for an addicted mother. Asking has been proven to not be enough, as it is very hard for one to admit the abuse of drugs, especially while pregnant. There are several options available to a pregnant mother to help keep them free from withdraw, and many options that gives them a chance to take care of themselves and the baby.

Knowing the results for each patient would give you, the physician, the opportunity to feel secure in your practice against lawsuit possibilities, as well as seek the appropriate treatment options available for the mother.