Addiction Medicine · Perinatal Substance Use Disorder

Addiction medicine in pregnancy, delivered with dignity

Treatment for substance use disorder in pregnancy should never cost a patient her privacy or her 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.

Talk to our team → See how the program works ↓

Board-certified clinicians· Team-based care· Private, in-home telemedicine· Intake within 24 to 48 hours· Built for Medicaid and health-system partners

The gap, and the stigma

One of the widest gaps in maternity care

“A patient should never have to choose between getting care and protecting her dignity.”

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 her away from care entirely. The same stigma surrounds detox and every conversation around it.

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.

Fear of being judged is not a small barrier. For many, it is the barrier.

Ouma was built to remove it. 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 the way anyone facing a medical condition deserves: with respect.

The care team

It's a program, not a prescription

The most important thing to understand about Ouma's addiction medicine program is what it is not. It is not one physician meeting one patient to write a script. Every patient in the program is connected to a coordinated team that guides her through the whole pregnancy, not just the medication.

Social Worker

Addresses the practical realities around recovery: housing, benefits, safety, and resources. Handles the logistics that so often derail care.

Behavioral Health Specialist

Treats the mental health side of recovery, because substance use disorder rarely travels alone.

One patient.
One team.

Midwife

Provides continuous, relationship-based support through the pregnancy. A steady, familiar presence at every step.

Maternal-Fetal Medicine (MFM) Physician

Manages the pregnancy as the high-risk pregnancy it is. Coordinates the full medical picture end to end.

One customized care plan

Around that team, each patient gets one customized care plan. It can bring together MAT, prenatal care, postpartum support, mental health care, and lactation support, matched to what she needs.

Beyond the clinical

The plan reaches past the clinical, too. In coordination with plan case managers, Ouma connects patients to local resources like housing, transportation, and parenting support, and engages the whole family in recovery.

One patient. One team. Every visit, the same people, a group that knows her story and carries it with her.

See it in your network

Want to see how the program stands up in your network?

Let's talk →

The referral pathway

How care begins

Getting started is straightforward, and it moves quickly. 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 Addiction Medicine specialists are available for on-demand visits when urgent support is needed.

Referral

A provider or case manager refers the patient through Ouma's secure referral page. Our team coordinates with the practice for a smooth transition of care.

Assessment and enrollment

A comprehensive evaluation sets the right level of care and treatment plan. It covers medical history, substance-use history, and psychosocial factors.

Initiation of MAT

The patient begins treatment with the clinical team. That means regular telehealth visits, medication management, and behavioral health support.

Continuous support and follow-up

The team stays engaged through regular follow-ups. Care is adjusted as the patient moves through pregnancy and postpartum.

Care is scheduled as antepartum or postpartum visits, using the existing state-specific scheduling experience.

Outpatient detox and induction

Ouma can begin treatment on an outpatient basis, so a patient does not have to be admitted somewhere to get started. Most programs will not do this, which leaves patients without a starting point. It is one of the clearest ways this program lowers the barrier to care.

The standard of care

Evidence-based care, not a lesser option

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

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.

Ouma's clinicians deliver this care the way it should be delivered: consistently, expertly, and without judgment. And because we build around the patient, the medication is only one part of the picture. It sits inside a program of behavioral health, social support, midwifery continuity, and MFM oversight, so the whole person is cared for.

1. ACOG clinical guidance on opioid use disorder in pregnancy; Jones et al., NEJM (MOTHER trial).

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 and cared for 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. Part of that care is counseling about the anticipated neonatal course, so no one is caught off guard.

Being told in advance changes everything. 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

1. ACOG clinical guidance on opioid use disorder in pregnancy; Jones et al., NEJM (MOTHER trial).

Regulatory expertise

Why so few will build this, and why we can

There is a reason addiction medicine in pregnancy is underserved. 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 the nuances of standing up a compliant controlled-substance prescribing program. That includes the requirements of the Ryan Haight Act and the sensitivities involved in this kind of care.²

Telehealth rules for prescribing controlled substances have been evolving. Ouma builds to current federal and state requirements and updates as they change.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 is where the need is greatest and the impact is largest.

2. Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (2008); federal and state telehealth prescribing requirements.

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, monitoring, and continuity that make treatment hold.

Perinatal Behavioral Health →

Treat the mental health side of recovery alongside the medication

Midwifery →

Continuous, relationship-based support through the pregnancy

Nurse Navigation →

The care coordination that ties the whole team together

High-Risk Pregnancy (teleMFM) →

MFM oversight for the pregnancy as a whole

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. It is designed for Medicaid beneficiaries: accessible, affordable, and aligned with state Medicaid requirements.

For health plans →

Hospitals & Health Systems

Add a team-based perinatal addiction medicine program without the regulatory lift of building controlled-substance telemedicine yourself. It also serves members already on maintenance therapy who need a provider to keep prescribing through pregnancy and postpartum.

For hospitals →

Sources

ACOG clinical guidance on opioid use disorder in pregnancy; Jones HE, et al. (the MOTHER trial), NEJM. Medication-assisted treatment 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 than methadone.
Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act (2008); federal and state telehealth requirements for prescribing controlled substances.