Postpartum Visits Linked With Less Acute Care for Those With Substance Use Disorder

— Integrated versus non-integrated care did not seem to matter, researchers report by Rachael Robertson, Enterprise & Investigative Writer, MedPage Today May 3, 2026 • 3 min read WASHINGTON -- Early postpartum visits were protective against acute care encounters among women with substance use disorder (SUD), a retrospective cohort study found. Attending a postpartum visit within 8 weeks was associated with a 44% reduction in hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits in the late postpartum period (42 to 365 days postpartum; adjusted OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.43-0.74), reported Marcela C. Smid, MD, of the University of Utah (U of U) Health in Salt Lake City, in a presentation at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) annual meeting. "This to me says it is really important to get folks with substance use disorder into that early postpartum care," Smid told MedPage Today. The study's primary objective was to assess the association of late postpartum acute care use between individuals who received integrated perinatal care at the university's SUPeRAD clinic, which offers obstetric care, addiction care, mental health care, peer support, and social work and those who received non-integrated care. They found that integrated care was not associated with odds