The Lived Experience of Postpartum Women Attending Outpatient Substance Treatment for Opioid or Heroin Use

Abstract

The current opioid crisis and associated heroin epidemic have exhausted the limited community services that are available to substance users, with only about 12% of substance use treatment facilities offering special programs for pregnant women. Little information is known about the lived experience of postpartum women in outpatient substance use treatment programs, who are working toward abstinence and caring for a newborn. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experience of postpartum women attending outpatient substance use treatment for illicit opioid or heroin use. Individual interviews were conducted between December 2017 and November 2018, with 10 postpartum women with opioid use disorder (OUD) engaged in outpatient substance use treatment programs. A 4-step conceptual framework as suggested by Moustakas was used to understand and synthesize the lived experiences shared by the women. Five themes emerged from the raw data: the presence of a stigma in providers of health care services, a fear of being reported to family services, children are primary motivators to remain engaged in treatment, concern for the welfare of the infant, and barriers to treatment. Postpartum women with OUD and their infants have complex needs that may best be served by treatment programs that offer comprehensive care. The fear of being reported to family services and possible loss of custody influenced all aspects of their decision-making.