Preferential treatment of high-risk opioid-dependent pregnant women with methadone limits evidence of the comparative safety of buprenorphine versus methadone on infant outcomes. Adjustment for maternal characteristics that affect both treatment choices and birth outcomes is necessary to provide valid estimates of the effect of prenatal opioid agonist therapy exposure.
Keywords: Birth outcomes; buprenorphine; infants; methadone; neonatal abstinence syndrome; pregnancy.