Esposito DB, Bateman B, Werler M, et al. - In view of studies on animal models indicating the effect of opioids on placental development and function, researchers herein sought to assess human data on their association with ischemic placental disease by comparing women with ≥ 2 opioid dispensings in pregnancy with unexposed women using a cohort of pregnant women in the US nationwide Medicaid Analytic eXtract (2000-2014). They identified a total of 1,833,871 eligible pregnancies; 6.5% of these had filling of ≥ 2 opioid dispensings. Outcomes suggest an encounter to a modest increase in the risk of placental abruption, preterm birth and SGA, but not preeclampsia, in correlation with prescription opioids.