Rates of opioid use and opioid agonist maintenance treatment have increased substantially in recent years, particularly among women. Trends and outcomes of opioids use on fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding, and longer‐term child developmental outcomes have not been well‐described. This paper reviews the existing literature on the health effects of opioid use on female fertility, pregnancy, breastmilk and the exposed infant. It finds that the current literature is primarily concentrated on the impact of opioid use in pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, with little exploration of effects on fertility. Studies are limited in number, some with small sample sizes, and many are hampered by methodological challenges related to confounding and other potential biases. Opioid use is becoming more prevalent due to environmental pressures such as COVID‐19.
Rates of opioid use and opi-
oid agonist maintenance treatment have increased substantially in recent years, par-
ticularly among women. Trends and outcomes of opioids use on fertility, pregnancy
and breastfeeding, and longer- term child developmental outcomes have not been
well- described. Here, we review the existing literature on the health effects of opioid
use on female fertility, pregnancy, breastmilk and the exposed infant. We find that
the current literature is primarily concentrated on the impact of opioid use in preg-
nancy and neonatal outcomes, with little exploration of effects on fertility. Studies
are limited in number, some with small sample sizes, and many are hampered by
methodological challenges related to confounding and other potential biases. Opioid
use is becoming more prevalent due to environmental pressures such as COVID- 19.
