Pharmacokinetics in Opioid Use Disorder and Breastfeeding 

Release Date: 2/3/23

Expire Date: 7/31/24

This virtual educational activity is jointly provided by the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services

Target audience:  Physicians, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, quality professionals, risk managers, healthcare executives, and all healthcare professionals working with women and families affected by trauma and addiction.

Description: Human milk feeding is associated with better health outcomes for both the infant and mother, yet certain populations--including women with opioid use disorder--are less likely to provide milk to their infant. These disparities have been perpetuated by concern that the risk of infant drug exposure outweighs the benefits of human milk.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

• Discuss the evidence regarding infant exposure to opioids in milk from women with opioid use disorder.

• Identify the benefits associated with lactation and specifically how they relate to maternal opioid use disorder.
• Explain the evidence-based methods to support a mother’s infant feeding choice.

Your Faculty:

Sarah N. Taylor, MD, MSCR, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Yale School of Medicine

Dr. Sarah Taylor is an associate professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine.  She is the Director of Yale Neonatal Clinical Research and leads the Yale Neonatal NOuRish team with research focused on outcomes related to mother and infant nutrition.  In addition to her National Institutes of Health (NIH) and foundation-funded research program, Dr. Taylor participates in the development of evidence-based guidelines in lactation and infant nutrition for both the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  Additionally, she has served on three NIH work groups to identify research priorities in preterm infant nutrition or lactation.  While on faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina, she started the Mother’s Milk Bank of South Carolina in 2015.