accessAddiction Medicine · Perinatal Substance Use Disorder
Addiction medicine in pregnancy, delivered with dignity.
Treatment for substance use disorder in pregnancy should never cost a patient their privacy or their sense of self-worth. Ouma delivers evidence-based addiction care through telemedicine, in the privacy of a patient’s own home, wrapped in a full care team. This is not a prescription handed across a counter. It is a program built around the whole person, and the pregnancy.
The gap, and the stigma
One of the widest gaps in maternity care
Fear of being judged is not a small barrier. For many, it is the barrier.
Addiction is one of the most stigmatized conditions in medicine, and pregnancy magnifies it. For many patients, the standard path to treatment means traveling to a clinic, in person, to receive a medication like methadone, and then walking back out.
Now picture doing that visibly pregnant, in a small community where everyone knows everyone. The judgment a patient anticipates, real or feared, is often enough to turn them away from care entirely.
This is a substantial gap in the health care system. The patients who most need consistent, expert care are frequently the ones most afraid to seek it, precisely when the stakes are highest for them and for their baby.
Ouma was built to remove that barrier. By delivering addiction medicine through telemedicine, we bring treatment into the privacy of a patient’s own home. No waiting room, no visible clinic visit, no gauntlet. Care meets people where they are and treats them with respect.
The care team
It’s a program, not a prescription
Every patient in the program is connected to a coordinated team that guides them through the whole pregnancy, not just the medication.
Addiction Medicine Specialist
Manages recovery as the high-risk pregnancy it is, with MFM physician oversight, and coordinates the full medical picture end to end.
Behavioral Health Specialist
Treats the mental health side of recovery, because substance use disorder rarely travels alone.
Midwife
Provides continuous, relationship-based support through the pregnancy, a steady, familiar presence at every step.
Social Worker
Addresses the practical realities around recovery: housing, benefits, safety, and resources, the logistics that so often derail care.
One patient. One team.
Every visit, the same people, a group that knows their story and carries it with them. Around that team, each patient gets one customized care plan spanning MAT, prenatal care, postpartum support, mental health, and lactation.
The referral pathway
How care begins
A provider or case manager refers the patient, and Ouma takes it from there. Members are seen for intake within 24 to 48 hours, and specialists are available on demand when urgent support is needed.
Referral
A provider or case manager refers through Ouma’s secure referral page. Our team coordinates a smooth transition of care.
Assessment & enrollment
A comprehensive evaluation sets the right level of care, medical history, substance-use history, and psychosocial factors.
Initiation of MAT
The patient begins treatment with the clinical team: regular telehealth visits, medication management, and behavioral health support.
Continuous support
The team stays engaged through regular follow-ups, adjusting care as the patient moves through pregnancy and postpartum.
The differentiator
We can start treatment outpatient: no admission required
A patient doesn’t have to be admitted somewhere to begin. Most programs will not do this, which leaves patients without a starting point, and it’s one of the clearest ways this program lowers the barrier to care.
The standard of care
Evidence-based care, not a lesser option
For opioid use disorder in pregnancy, medication-assisted treatment with buprenorphine or methadone is the recognized standard of care, and it improves outcomes for both patient and baby.1 Ouma’s program uses FDA-approved medications such as buprenorphine, paired with comprehensive behavioral support.
These medications are not a moral concession or a stopgap. They are the treatment supported by the evidence.
Our clinicians deliver this care consistently, expertly, and without judgment, inside a program of behavioral health, social support, midwifery continuity, and MFM oversight, so the whole person is cared for.
Standard of care
MAT with buprenorphine or methadone is the standard of care for opioid use disorder in pregnancy, and improves outcomes. Buprenorphine is associated with milder neonatal withdrawal.1
Newborn education
The part everyone forgets
Even when a patient is well-supported and stable on buprenorphine or methadone, one conversation is almost always missed: what happens to the baby after birth.
Because these medications cross to the baby during pregnancy, some newborns experience neonatal withdrawal (sometimes called neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS). They may spend several days in the nursery being monitored after delivery. This is expected, it is managed, and it does not mean a parent did anything wrong.
For patients already stable on maintenance therapy, Ouma continues prescribing through pregnancy and postpartum, and stays with them through labor or a cesarean, counseling about the anticipated neonatal course so no one is caught off guard.
A parent who understands what may happen is not blindsided in the delivery room.
What to expect
- Some newborns need extra monitoring in the nursery for a few days after birth
- It is expected, temporary, and actively managed by the care team
- Buprenorphine is associated with milder neonatal withdrawal than methadone1
- Families know what may happen long before delivery day, so there are no surprises
Regulatory expertise
Why so few will build this, and why we can
Prescribing controlled substances by telemedicine carries heavy regulatory scrutiny, and most organizations will not take it on. Ouma’s team are seasoned telemedicine operators who understand what it takes to stand up a compliant controlled-substance prescribing program, including the requirements of the Ryan Haight Act.2
Compliance is the competency
We know what it takes to run a controlled-substance prescribing program the right way. The regulatory diligence is core to what we do, not an afterthought.
Experience where it is rare
Standing up this program safely takes people who have done it before. That familiarity is exactly why others hesitate and we do not.
Built for the payers who need it
The program plugs into health plans, especially Medicaid, and health systems. That’s where the need is greatest and the impact is largest.
Who this is for
Built for the partners who carry this population
Health Plans
A dignified addiction medicine program for members who otherwise go untreated. Designed for Medicaid beneficiaries: accessible, affordable, and aligned with state Medicaid requirements.
For health plans →Hospitals & Health Systems
Add a team-based perinatal addiction program without the regulatory lift of building controlled-substance telemedicine yourself, and keep members on maintenance therapy prescribed through pregnancy and postpartum.
For hospitals →Pairs well with
The services that wrap around addiction medicine
Recovery in pregnancy is never only about the medication. These Ouma services share the same care team and plan, supporting the mental health, continuity, and coordination that make treatment hold.
Perinatal Behavioral Health
Treat the mental health side of recovery alongside the medication
Learn more →Midwifery
Continuous, relationship-based support through the pregnancy
Learn more →Nurse Navigation
The care coordination that ties the whole team together
Learn more →High-Risk Pregnancy (teleMFM)
MFM oversight for the pregnancy as a whole
Learn more →Frequently asked
Common questions about perinatal addiction telehealth
Our team can start eligible patients on treatment within 24 to 48 hours of referral.
Is MAT safe and available during pregnancy by telehealth?
What is perinatal addiction telehealth?
Can treatment start without an inpatient admission?
How quickly can a referred patient be seen?
Is this program built for Medicaid populations?
What happens to the baby after birth?
Let’s Talk
Perinatal addiction care your patients can reach.
Tell us about your population and we will show you the model.
Expert maternity telehealth, extending the reach of subspecialty clinicians to every patient who needs it.