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Methadone

July 1, 2023

Selected References:

  • ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). 2017. Opioid Use and Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy. Available at: https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/committee-opinion/articles/2017/08/opioid-use-and-opioid-use-disorder-in-pregnancy. [Accessed 7/2023].
  • Badhad RKS & Gittins R. 2021. Precision dosing of methadone during pregnancy: a pharmacokinetics virtual clinical trials study. J Subst Abuse Treat, 130:108521.
  • Bakhireva LN, et al. 2019. Association between prenatal opioid exposure, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, and neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes at 5-8 months of age. Early Hum Dev, 128:69-76.
  • Ballard JL. 2002. Treatment of neonatal abstinence syndrome with breast milk containing methadone. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs, 15:76-85.
  • Beckwith AM, Burke SA. 2015. Identification of early developmental deficits in infants with prenatal heroin, methadone, and other opioid exposure. Clin Pediatr (Phila), 54(4):328-335.
  • Berghella V, et al. 2003. Maternal methadone dose and neonatal withdrawal. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 189:312-317.
  • Blinick G, et al. 1973. Methadone maintenance, pregnancy and progeny. J Am Med Assoc, 225:477-479.
  • CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). 2022. Opioid Use During Pregnancy. https://www.cdc.gov/pregnancy/opioids/index.html. [Accessed 7/2023].
  • Cleary B, et al. 2019. Methadone, Pierre Robin sequence and other congenital anomalies: a case-control study. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed, 105(2):151-157.
  • Cleary BJ, et al. 2011. Methadone and perinatal outcomes: a retrospective cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 204(2):139.e1-9.
  • Coulson CC, et al. 2021. Association of maternal buprenorphine or methadone dose with fetal growth indices and neonatal abstinence syndrome. Am J Perinatol, 38(1):28-36.
  • Dashe JS, et al. 2001. Relationship between maternal methadone dose and neonatal withdrawal. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 185(6 Pt 2):S106.
  • Goshgarian G, et al. 2022. Buprenorphine/Naloxone or methadone use on neonatal outcomes in Michigan. Cureus, 14(8):e27790.
  • Hoegerman G, Schnoll S. 1991. Narcotic use in pregnancy. Clin Perinatol; 18(1):51-76.
  • Jones HE, et al. 2008. Methadone maintenance vs. methadone taper during pregnancy: maternal and neonatal outcomes. Am J Addict, 17(5):372-386.
  • Jones HE, et al. 2017. Medically assisted withdrawal (detoxification): considering the mother–infant dyad. J Addict Med; 11:90–2.
  • Kaltenbach K, et al. 1998. Opioid dependence during pregnancy. Effects and management. Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am. 25(1):139-51.
  • Kaltenbach K, et al. 2018. Prenatal exposure to methadone or buprenorphine: early childhood developmental outcomes. Drug Alcohol Depend, 185:40–49.
  • Kanervo MM, et al. 2022. Buprenorphine-naloxone, buprenorphine, and methadone throughout pregnancy in maternal opioid use disorder. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand, 102(3):313-322.
  • Konijnenberg C, et al. 2022. Verbal and nonverbal memory in school-aged children born to opioid-dependent mothers. Early Hum Dev, 171:105614.
  • Levine TA et al. 2021. Prenatal methadone exposure and child developmental outcomes in 2-year-old children. Dev Med Child Neurol, 63(9):1114-1122
  • Levine TA, Woodward LJ. 2018. Early inhibitory control and working memory abilities of children prenatally exposed to methadone. Early Hum Dev, 116:68–75.
  • Lim S, et al. 2009. High-dose methadone in pregnant women and its effect on duration of neonatal abstinence syndrome. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 200(1):70.e1-5.
  • McCarthy JJ, Posey BL. 2000. Methadone levels in human milk. J Hum Lact, 16(2):115-120.
  • Newman RG, et al. 1975. Results of 313 consecutive live births delivered to patients in the New York City methadone maintenance program. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 121:233-237.
  • NIH (National Institutes of Health). 2017. Treating Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy Policy Brief. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/treating-opioid-use-disorder-during-pregnancy. [Accessed 7/2023].
  • Petrich M, et al. 2022. Comparison of neonatal outcomes in pregnant women undergoing medication-assisted treatment of opioid use disorder with methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med, 35(26):10481-10486
  • Pond SM, et al. 1985. Altered methadone pharmacokinetics in methadone-maintained pregnant women. J Pharmacol Exp Ther; 233:1–6.
  • Reddy UM, et al. 2017. Opioid use in pregnancy, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and childhood outcomes: executive summary of a joint workshop by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Maternal–Fetal Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the March of Dimes. Opioid Use in Pregnancy, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, and Childhood Outcomes Workshop. Obstet Gynecol 2017;130:10–28.
  • Reece-Stremtan S, Marinelli KA. 2015. ABM clinical protocol #21: guidelines for breastfeeding and substance use or substance use disorder, revised 2015. Breastfeed Med, 10(3):135-141.
  • Rementeria JL, Nunag NN. 1973. Narcotic withdrawal in pregnancy: stillbirth incidence with a case report. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 116(8):1152-1156.
  • SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Clinical Guidance for Treating Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorder and Their Infants. https://www.samhsa.gov/resource/ebp/clinical-guidance-treating-pregnant-parenting-women-opioid-use-disorder-their-infants. [Accessed 7/2023].
  • Schuckit MA. 2016. Treatment of opioid-use disorders. N Engl J Med, 375:357–368.
  • Sharpe C, Kuschel C. 2004. Outcomes of infants born to mothers receiving methadone for pain management in pregnancy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed, 89(1):F33-F36.
  • Stover MW, Davis JM. 2015. Opioids in pregnancy and neonatal abstinence syndrome. Semin Perinatol. 39(7):561-5.
  • Suarez EA, et al. 2022. Buprenorphine versus methadone for opioid use disorder in pregnancy. N Engl J Med, 387(22):2033-2044.
  • Wang S, et al. 2023. Comparative safety analysis of opioid agonist treatment in pregnant women with opioid use disorder: a population based study. Drug Saf, 46(3):257-271
  • Weaver K, et al 2022. Robin sequence without cleft palate: genetic diagnoses and management implications. Am J Med Genet A, 188(1):160-177.
  • Welle-Strand GK, et al. 2013. Neonatal outcomes following in utero exposure to methadone or buprenorphine: a national cohort study of opioid-agonist treatment of pregnant women in Norway from 1996 to 2009. Drug Alcohol Depend, 127(1-3):200-206.
  • Woodward LJ, et al. 2006. Early neurobehavioral development of the infant exposed to methadone during pregnancy. Pediatri Res, (2006 PAS Annual Meeting):3571.318.
  • Woudes TA, et al. 2020. Neurobehavior of newborn infants exposed prenatally to methadone and identification of a neurobehavioral profile linked to poorer neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 24 months. PLoS One,  15(10):e024095.

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