Lessons Learned Serving Pregnant, Postpartum, and Parenting People with Substance Use Disorders in Massachusetts: The Moms Do Care Program

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe the design and implementation of a multidisciplinary, integrated approach to supporting pregnant, postpartum, and parenting people (PPPP) and their families affected by substance use disorders (SUD).DescriptionBetween 2015 and 2022, the Moms Do Care (MDC) Program, sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Addiction Services, established or expanded 11 co-located medical and behavioral health teams in locations across Massachusetts. These teams provided trauma-informed primary and obstetrical health care, SUD treatment and recovery services, parenting support, and case management for approximately 1048 PPPP with SUD.AssessmentBy enhancing the capacity of medical and behavioral health providers offering integrated care across the perinatal health care continuum, MDC created a network of support for PPPP with SUD. Lessons learned include the need to continually invest in staff training to foster teambuilding and improve integrated service delivery, uplift the peer recovery coach role within the care team, improve engagement with and access to services for communities of color, and conduct evaluation and sustainability planning.ConclusionMDC prioritizes trauma-informed integrated care, peer recovery, and commits to addressing inequities and stigma; thus, this program represents a promising approach to supporting PPPP impacted by SUD. The MDC model is relevant for those working to build multidisciplinary, integrated systems of health care and perinatal SUD services for marginalized populations. The Moms Do Care (MDC) Program is an integrated, multidisciplinary model of service provision originally created in response to the rising rates of perinatal opioid use disorder in Massachusetts. By partnering with and enhancing the capacities of medical, substance use disorder, and behavioral health providers along the perinatal continuum of care, and by leveraging the expertise of perinatal recovery coaches, MDC established and expanded webs of regional support for families impacted by any SUD. The MDC model is especially noteworthy to those building sustainable, multidisciplinary models of health care and perinatal SUD services for this population.