Patients with substance use disorder have every right to be pregnant and have children as much as anyone else. Some people look at it as being irresponsible but who are we to judge? In fact, our guest today explains how certain medications for substance use disorders could have played a part in improving the hormonal milieu of patients enough that a pregnancy might occur.

On this episode, Duane speaks with Dr. Charles Schauberger, an OB/GYN and Addiction Medicine doctor who specializes in helping women who are struggling with substance use disorder go through pregnancy. This is an issue that doesn't get talked about or thought about a lot unless someone is in this situation.

A strong advocate for addiction treatment and compassionate care, Charles shares his story of getting into this specialty and how women dealing with substance use disorder can have a very healthy and successful pregnancy if they’re given the right support.

His motivation for helping these women comes from recognizing the discrimination against this group of underserved people who have limited resources, not to mention the stigma associated with their drug use which makes their pregnancy even harder.

Charles started practicing as an obstetrician in 1982 and has delivered about 5,000 babies over the course of his career. In 2008, he experienced burnout, left his clinical practice, and became a hospital administrator. After two and a half years, he went back into practice again because he missed patient contact.

Charles points out that patients are better off if they are stable in their treatment and recovery before achieving a pregnancy. However, he never talks down to anyone who gets pregnant while they're still actively using. Instead, he uses it as an opportunity to help them achieve recovery.

In this episode, you will hear:

Charles’ journey into medicine
Some myths around pregnancy and substance use
The stigmas that pregnant women struggling with substance abuse have
Using MAT during pregnancy
The real treatment for recovery

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Supporting Resources:

Women and Substance Use Disorders Action Group of the American Society of Addiction Medicine

NovusMindfulLife.com

Episode Credits

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