Fact Sheets

Sources: Lynn M. Paltrow & Jeanne Flavin, Arrests of and Forced Interventions on Pregnant Women in the United States, 1973-2005: Implications for Women’s Legal Status and Public health, 38 J. Health Pol., Pol’y & L. 299 (2013); Nina Martin, Take a Valium Lose your Kid, Go to Jail, ProPublica; NAPW internal files

Opioid use and dependency among pregnant women in the United States has increasingly been the subject of new state laws and policies. Unfortunately, this has not led to increased funding for treatment, and misinformation has resulted in harmful policy decisions.

Understanding Opioid Use During Pregnancy
June 07, 2018
Opioid use and dependency among pregnant women in the United States has increasingly been the subject of new state laws and policies. Unfortunately, this has not led to increased funding for treatment, and misinformation has resulted in harmful policy decisions.

Medical and Public Health Group Statements Opposing Prosecution and Punishment of Pregnant Women
June 01, 2018
Every leading medical and public health organization to address the issue of pregnant women and drug use has taken a position opposing punitive approaches as dangerous to maternal, fetal and child health.

Last week President Trump and the Republican Party released their plan (Trumpcare) to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Their plan guts the ACA, slashes Medicaid, and will result in 52 million people being uninsured over the next 10 years.

March 22, 2017
This fact sheet from NAPW explains how Trumpcare targets Planned Parenthood and is likely to impact pregnant women in particular. Click here for a pdf of the fact sheet.

April 07, 2015
Fact sheets available for download about North Carolina's 2015 SB 297, a bill proposed "to create the criminal offense of prenatal narcotic drug use."

North Carolina SB 297: http://bit.ly/NCSB297

NAPW Fact Sheet about SB 297: http://bit.

Colorado and North Dakota voters will be deciding on two very important ballot measures this Election Day. These measures have the potential to impact ALL pregnant women, whether or not they decide to carry pregnancies to term.

Today, National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) released an online video How Colorado's Amendment 67 and North Dakota's Measure 1 Can Hurt All Pregnant Women.

Prenatal Exposure to Illegal Drugs and Alcohol: Media Hype and Enduring Myths Are Not Supported By Science
March 24, 2010

Download a pdf of this fact sheet here

Based on the extraordinary misinformation that appeared frequently in the popular press, many people believe that a pregnant woman who uses any amount of an illegal drug or alcohol will inevitably harm or even kill her fetus.