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Background: WHO guidelines emphasise the need for descriptions of clinical practice and observational studies on risk and benefits of pharmacotherapies in pregnancy. The aims of the present study were to: (1) Describe opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) in the Scandinavian countries in general, and specifically for pregnant women, (2) Describe a project which utilises a new approach using registry-linkage data to examine associations between prenatal exposure to OMT and child outcomes: a Scandinavian cohort study of pregnant women in OMT during pregnancy (ScopeOMT). Data: Guidelines describing the treatment of persons with opioid use disorders in general, and specifically for pregnant women. Scandinavian registry-linkage data from ScopeOMT. Results: Registry data show that approximately 800 pregnant women received OMT during pregnancy in the period of the ScopeOMT study. Similarities across the Scandinavian countries include access to free healthcare and treatment; multidisciplinary teams trained to support pregnant women in OMT; buprenorphine as the recommended drug when initiating therapy; and a holistic focus on the patients' lives. An important difference is that Norwegian women who use illegal substances that may harm the foetus may be admitted – voluntarily, or against their will – for parts of, or the remainder of the pregnancy to inpatient treatment at specialised clinics. Conclusion: Many similarities in the treatment provided to opioid-dependent persons in the Scandinavian countries place this area in an excellent position to combine the efforts and carry out observational studies concerning the safety of OMT during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: More than one-half of all pregnant women suffer from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP), primarily during the first trimester. Methods: Prospectively ascertained information on drug use during pregnancy was obtained from the Swedish Medical Birth Register during the period July 1, 1995 to 2002. Antiemetics (antiemetic antihistamines, dopamine modulators, and ondansetron) primarily used for NVP were studied, and women reporting the use of these drugs were compared with all women who gave birth during the study period. Results: Use of these antiemetics was reported in 4.5% of the pregnant women - 86% of whom reported their use before the first antenatal visit (usually weeks 10–12). Meclozine, followed by other antihistamines, accounted for 68% of the drugs reported. Young maternal age, multiparity, non-smoking, and a period of unwanted childlessness increased the probability of using any of the antiemetics during pregnancy. Women with a low education used these drugs more often than women with a relatively higher education. Neonates born to women who used any of the antiemetics had a reduced risk for low birthweight, prematurity, being small-for-gestational age, and having a malformation. No specific differences were observed with respect to the outcome following a comparison of different antiemetic drugs. Conclusions: Women using antiemetics as a rule have a better delivery outcome than other women, probably due to an effect of a well-functioning placenta, which is associated with NVP. There were no signs of any significant teratogenicity of the drugs studied, but for some drugs the number of exposures was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]