One of the goals of the MOTHER Study was to collect comprehensive data on maternal, fetal, and neonatal behavior that could be shared with the broader research community
One of the goals of the MOTHER Study was to collect comprehensive data on maternal, fetal, and neonatal behavior that could be shared with the broader research community.
One of the goals of the MOTHER Study was to collect comprehensive data on maternal, fetal, and neonatal behavior that could be shared with the broader research community.
This broad availability of the MOTHER data has allowed MOTHER Principal Investigators and other researchers to ask a variety of questions about maternal, fetal, and neonatal issues related to maternal buprenorphine and/or methadone treatment. An Addiction Supplement issue will be published shortly reporting on these studies.
The following slides present findings from a number of these secondary outcome studies, including:
The extent to which 32-week fetal movement and cardiac measures differ between methadone and buprenorphine before and after dosing
Differences between buprenorphine- and methadone-maintained pregnant women in obstetrical and neonatal complications
Liver enzymes and their relationship to buprenorphine and methadone treatment, as well as HCV status
Differences in NAS signs between medications
Predicting treatment for neonatal abstinence syndrome
Neonatal neurobehavioral effects following buprenorphine v. methadone exposure
All neonates in each medication condition had at least one total NAS score greater than 0 at some point during the observation period.
Three individual signs were observed significantly more often in the buprenorphine than in the methadone condition: sneezing, loose stools, and nasal stuffiness.
There were no signs that were observed significantly more often in the methadone condition than in the buprenorphine condition.
Methadone-exposed neonates had higher mean NAS total score, and higher mean scores for hyperactive. Moro reflex, disturbed tremors, undisturbed tremors, failure to thrive, and excessive irritability.
All ps ≤ 0.04
Buprenorphine-exposed neonates had higher mean scores on sneezing
Heil et al., Addiction, 2012
MOTHER: Buprenorphine v. Methadone NAS Signs
Compared with methadone-exposed fetuses, buprenorphine-exposed fetuses have better indications of fetal well-being, including:
Compared with methadone-exposed fetuses, buprenorphine-exposed fetuses have better indications of fetal well-being, including:
greater FHR variability
more accelerations
better FM-FHR coupling early in the second half of gestation
In contrast, FM was most consistently suppressed in methadone-exposed fetuses at the later gestational age period.
Several studies have compared obstetrical outcomes for opioid-dependent pregnant women in maintenance treatment with buprenorphine or methadone.
Results have suggested that obstetrical outcomes are comparable between the two medications.
However, only two of these studies were randomized controlled trials, both with small sample sizes.
This study compared obstetrical and neonatal measures between buprenorphine and methadone for outcomes that were not presented in the MOTHER primary outcomes paper.
Holbrook et al., Addiction, 2012
MOTHER: OB Complications
There were few obstetrical and neonatal complications in the total sample, as well as in both the buprenorphine and methadone conditions.
