Two recent reports inspired me to write about the topic of women getting treatment for substance use disorder (SUD).

The first was a recent National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study on the significantly increased rate of drug overdoses among pregnant and postpartum women since 2017. The findings suggest that although there are SUD treatment services available to these women, barriers including penalization, stigma, and discrimination are stopping them from getting help.

The second appeared recently in Genetics in Medicine Open. The study describes a syndrome that may be occurring in babies who are exposed to fentanyl in the womb. At least 10 babies have so far been identified with the syndrome. All have distinctive physical defects, including cleft palates and unusually small heads.

These two studies point to the same thing: Women must do whatever they can to seek treatment for their drug and alcohol issues and must not be held back by the barriers in their way.

The following can help.

Gender-responsive therapy

When this therapy is done in the residential treatment setting, men and women stay in separate residences, and the gender split runs through everything—from the design of the physical environment to the daily programming to the issues covered during therapy sessions. The specific benefits of gender-responsive therapy for women include the following:

• It allows women to more easily share about social pressures, expectations, and other personal experiences.
• It helps eliminate potential distractions that may occur during treatment.
• It helps women get back in touch with self-care, relaxation, and building community with each other.

My advice, if you’re a woman who needs help with substance use or you have a loved one who does, is to consider a treatment center that offers gender-responsive therapy. It could make all the difference.

What’s keeping women from seeking treatment

There are a lot of reasons for this, and they are serious and legitimate. But, in many cases, they can be overcome. Here are three common ones:

• “Honey, we need you here at home.” A situation we see a lot at our addiction treatment center is a partner who doesn’t support treatment. They say they need the person at home or the kids need them at home. Or they’re not convinced the partner needs treatment in the first place.
• “It feels selfish.” Women frequently feel strong obligations to fulfill certain family roles. They often do the lion’s share of parenting, and many also do more eldercare when aging parents are in the picture. When these daily pressures are present, seeking treatment can seem selfish to women, so they deny themselves the opportunity. Also, many believe there’s simply no time for it.
• “I can’t afford it.” Women tend to make less money than men. A recent Pew report showed that women now earn 82 percent of what men earn. And many stop working temporarily or cut back when they have kids. These scenarios may put women in a more precarious situation financially than men; thus, they have a harder time both justifying and paying for addiction treatment.

Delaying treatment has dire consequences for women

Because of the social pressures, family obligations, and financial realities that women face, they often delay their treatment, if they show up at all. By the time women make the call, they’re often in far worse shape than their male counterparts.

Their addiction is at a more advanced stage, so it’s more difficult to treat. At our center, we see women with early-onset dementia exacerbated by their drug or alcohol use, and their cancer rates are higher as well.

Tragically, we treated half a dozen women for alcohol overuse in 2023 with full-blown liver failure, and these women were all in their 30s. The physical condition of these patients is not hopeless—they can get better in many cases—but it makes their alcohol addiction more complicated to treat.

Searching for solutions

To women who are dealing with a drug problem, my advice is to not fight this alone. Seek help, because help is out there. Be determined, be resourceful, be courageous, and get the treatment you need and deserve.

The community needs to step up as well. Primary care providers need to support their female patients by providing treatment referrals. Social workers, therapists, and other medical professionals need to help women with substance use issues find childcare, eldercare, and other support, so they can put those obligations aside responsibly and get into treatment.

A final note: At our addiction center, we created an outside support group for those whose female spouses and partners are in treatment. These loved ones share their worries and experiences, and generally help each other cope.

The program works. For many in this outside support group, the experience helps them become more understanding and helpful to their partners during and after treatment.