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Mother, Child and OMT (GOBLAR)
Women in OMT who have used OMT medication during pregnancy and their children
About the project
Annually, 30-50 women give birth after using opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) during pregnancy. Of these, 40-90% of the newborns develop NAS (neonatal abstinence syndrome) after birth.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health issued national guidelines on pregnant women in OMT in 2011 and 2019. There are still many unanswered questions regarding pregnancy, childbirth, and the ongoing psychosocial and cognitive development of the children and women involved.
This collaborative project includes both prospective (2005-2007) and retrospective groups of mothers and their children who have been studied at multiple points in the children's lives. Four PhD degrees have been awarded (Sarfi 2012, Lund 2013, Konijnenberg 2013, Welle-Strand 2015) based on data from different parts of the project.
Selected publications
Sarfi, M., Eikemo, M., & Konijnenberg, C. (2022). Children born to women in opioid maintenance treatment: A longitudinal study of child behavioral problems and parenting stress. Frontiers in pediatrics, 10, 1087956.
Sarfi, M., Eikemo, M., Welle-Strand, G. K., Muller, A. E., & Lehmann, S. (2022). Mental health and use of health care services in opioid-exposed school-aged children compared to foster children. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 1-15.
Welle-Strand, G. K., Skurtveit, S., Abel, K. F., Chalabianloo, F., & Sarfi, M. (2020). Living a normal life? Follow-up study of women who had been in opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 113, 108004.
Myrvold, T., Christiansen, Ø., Haune, M., Sarfi, M., Heiervang, E.; (2020) Evalueringa av CARE-modellen. Tverrrfaglig kartlegging av utsatte barna helse og omsorgsbehov. Rapport, Institutt for klinisk medisin, Uio, 2020ISBN 978-82-692293-1-8
Eikemo, M., Lobmaier, P. P., Pedersen, M. L., Kunøe, N., Matziorinis, A. M., Leknes, S., & Sarfi, M. (2019). Intact responses to non-drug rewards in long-term opioid maintenance treatment. Neuropsychopharmacology, 44(8), 1456-1463.
Konijnenberg, C., Sarfi, M., & Melinder, A. (2016). Mother-child interaction and cognitive development in children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine. Early human development, 101, 91-97.
Welle-Strand, G. K., Skurtveit, S., Tanum, L., Waal, H., Bakstad, B., Bjarkø, L., & Ravndal, E. (2015). Tapering from methadone or buprenorphine during pregnancy: maternal and neonatal outcomes in Norway 1996-2009. European addiction research, 21(5), 253-261.
Konijnenberg, C., Lund, I. O., & Melinder, A. (2015). Behavioural outcomes of four-year-old children prenatally exposed to methadone or buprenorphine: a test of three risk models. Early Child Development and Care, 185(10), 1641-1657.
Welle-Strand, G. K., Kvamme, O., Andreassen, A., & Ravndal, E. (2014). A woman's experience of tapering from buprenorphine during pregnancy. Case Reports, 2014, bcr2014207207.
Welle‐Strand, G. K., Skurtveit, S., Jansson, L. M., Bakstad, B., Bjarkø, L., & Ravndal, E. (2013). Breastfeeding reduces the need for withdrawal treatment in opioid‐exposed infants. Acta paediatrica, 102(11), 1060-1066.
Welle-Strand, G. K., Skurtveit, S., Jones, H. E., Waal, H., Bakstad, B., Bjarkø, L., & Ravndal, E. (2013). Neonatal outcomes following in utero exposure to methadone or buprenorphine: a National Cohort Study of opioid-agonist treatment of Pregnant Women in Norway from 1996 to 2009. Drug and alcohol dependence, 127(1-3), 200-206.
Melinder, A., Konijnenberg, C., & Sarfi, M. (2013). Deviant smooth pursuit in preschool children exposed prenatally to methadone or buprenorphine and tobacco affects integrative visuomotor capabilities. Addiction, 108(12), 2175-2182.
Sarfi, M., Sundet, J. M., & Waal, H. (2013). Maternal stress and behavioral adaptation in methadone-or buprenorphine-exposed toddlers. Infant Behavior and Development, 36(4), 707-716.
Lund, I. O., Brendryen, H., & Ravndal, E. (2014). A longitudinal study on substance use and related problems in women in opioid maintenance treatment from pregnancy to four years after giving birth. Substance abuse: research and treatment, 8, SART-S15055.
Lund, I. O., Skurtveit, S., Engeland, A., Furu, K., Ravndal, E., & Handal, M. (2013). Prescription drug use among pregnant women in opioid maintenance treatment. Addiction, 108(2), 367-376.
Lund, I. O., Skurtveit, S., Sarfi, M., Bakstad, B., Welle-Strand, G., & Ravndal, E. (2013). A 2-year prospective study of psychological distress among a national cohort of pregnant women in opioid maintenance treatment and their partners. Journal of Substance Use, 18(2), 148-160.
Lund, I. O., Skurtveit, S., Sarfi, M., Bakstad, B., Welle-Strand, G., & Ravndal, E. (2012). Substance use during and after pregnancy among a national cohort of pregnant women in opioid maintenance treatment and their partners. Journal of Substance use, 17(3), 277-286.
Bakstad, B., Sarfi, M., Welle-Strand, G. K., & Ravndal, E. (2009). Opioid maintenance treatment during pregnancy: occurrence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome: a national prospective study. European addiction research, 15(3), 128-134.
Published Oct. 23, 2012 2:21 PM
- Last modified Sep. 1, 2026 12:55 PM