Ariadna Forray, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for the Wellbeing of Women and Mothers at Yale, was a featured speaker at a briefing on Capitol Hill on July 26 about the impact of the opioid epidemic on maternal health.
The briefing was co-sponsored by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and Rep. Ann Kuster (D-NH), co-chair of the Bipartisan Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force. It was attended by over 30 Congressional staffers.
Forray spoke about her current PCORI-funded study, “Support Models for Addiction Related Treatment (SMART)” comparing two models to provide pregnant women prenatal care and treatment for opioid use disorder.
During her visit, Forray met with Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-CT) and his staff to discuss her study. She was joined by a patient participant, Amanda Martin, who spoke about how her second pregnancy had a better outcome than her first pregnancy because of support she received through her obstetric practice and Forray’s SMART study.
She was able to get on medication treatment for opioid use disorder during the second pregnancy and has maintained abstinence for over two years. During her first pregnancy she did not receive any care or support and relapsed soon after delivery.
Martin recently got married and bought a house.