The MOTHER study as a foundation for advancing perinatal opioid use disorder treatment: Clinical guidelines and the evolving research landscape

Why clinicians should know about it

• Picked for Neonatology (top studies of the week, 9 August 2026): MOTHER RCT comparing methadone vs buprenorphine for opioid use disorder

Abstract

The Maternal Opioid Treatment: Human Experimental Research (MOTHER) study was a rigorous randomized controlled trial that compared methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of pregnant women with opioid use disorder. Since the primary outcomes were published in 2010, this study has served as a cornerstone of the evidence base guiding both clinical practice and national and international health policy. This commentary examines MOTHER's contributions to the global policy landscape and also traces the scholarly advances it catalyzed, including advances in neonatal abstinence syndrome research, landmark pharmacoepidemiological studies, and innovations in medication delivery, among others. As such, MOTHER is among the most influential clinical trials in addiction medicine and perinatal research and an excellent example of the contributions of behavioral pharmacology, the field concerned with the physiological and behavioral mechanisms by which drugs operate, encompassing not only the effects of drugs on behavior but also how behavioral factors contribute to the actions of drugs and the ways in which they are used, to advancing addiction science.

Abstract as published, via PubMed.