Contraceptive uptake in postpartum people with and without opioid use disorder and opioid use with co-occurring substance use

Abstract

Background

Using contraception to delay pregnancy allows people with opioid use disorder (OUD) to choose when they are ready to continue their families. Yet, postpartum contraceptive uptake among people with OUD has not been well characterized.

Methods

Analyses used 73,811 pregnancy episodes among 61,221 people (2016–2021) from the St. Louis University-SSM Virtual Data Warehouse. OUD was defined from the year prior and through pregnancy. Contraceptive uptake was defined within 90-days after delivery. We used Generalized Estimating Equations-type multinomial logit models to assess association of OUD +/- co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs) with any contraception (yes/no) and type of contraception (effective – pills, patch, ring, injection; or highly effective – long-acting reversible, LARC methods [intrauterine device, implant] and sterilization).

Results

The sample was 66.0 % white and average age was 27.7 years (±5.6). 32.5 % of pregnancies were followed by contraception initiation, 2.3 % had an OUD diagnosis, and 1.3 % OUD with co-occurring SUD. There was no association between OUD and postpartum contraception receipt, but OUD was associated with decreased highly effective compared to effective method initiation (aOR=0.76; 95 % CI: [0.64–0.91]). OUD plus co-occurring SUD was associated with decreased uptake across all contraception types (aOR=0.81[0.70–0.93]), specifically, highly-effective methods (aOR=0.48[0.38–0.61]).

Conclusions

Overall postpartum contraception uptake among people with OUD is comparable to uptake in the non-OUD population. People with OUD plus co-occurring SUDs are particularly unlikely to receive contraception. The reasons people choose contraceptive methods are complex and may differ by SUD severity. More information is needed to understand factors that impact postpartum contraception initiation.