Motherhood, substance use and peer support: Benefits of an integrated group program for pregnant and postpartum women
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Alison Firemark; Inga Gruß; Autumn Davidson
- Source
- Journal of substance abuse treatment. 131
- Subject
- Substance-Related Disorders
medicine.medical_treatment
030508 substance abuse
Medicine (miscellaneous)
Mothers
Peer support
Support group
Peer Group
03 medical and health sciences
Social support
0302 clinical medicine
Nursing
Pregnancy
medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Qualitative Research
Postpartum Period
Social Support
medicine.disease
Integrated care
Substance abuse
Psychiatry and Mental health
Clinical Psychology
Accountability
Female
Pshychiatric Mental Health
Thematic analysis
0305 other medical science
Psychology
Qualitative research
- Language
- ISSN
- 1873-6483
Objective Little is known though about the experiences that pregnant and postpartum women have in integrated care programs for substance use disorder and the mechanisms that may contribute to the treatment success. Methods We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews with women and staff who participated in an integrated care initiative for pregnant and postpartum women with SUD focusing on participants' experiences with the support group. The data was analyzed following a thematic analysis approach. Results Three themes emerged that captured the benefits women felt they received from the peer support group: 1) sustained engagement in, and accountability for, participation in SUD treatment, 2) well-coordinated access to medical and social support resources, and 3) establishing community around motherhood to learn selfacceptance and experience validation. Conclusions This study demonstrates the important role a peer support group within an integrated treatment program can play in supporting mothers in their recovery.