Pregnancy-Associated Drug Overdose Mortality in the United States, 2018-2023

The authors aimed to evaluate changes in pregnancy-associated drug overdose mortality in the United States from 2018 to 2023 and compare these trends with nonpregnant reproductive-aged females. They found that pregnancy-associated overdose mortality increased significantly, with a 62.2% rise, primarily driven by fentanyl and psychostimulants, and noted that the rates were highest in the South. This increase in mortality among pregnant individuals was nearly double that of their nonpregnant counterparts.