Evaluation of a new departmental policy to decrease routine opioid prescribing after vaginal delivery.

Background: In line with a nationwide commitment to decrease opioid prescribing, in October 2017, our department implemented a new departmental policy to cease routine provision of opioid prescriptions at the time of discharge following vaginal delivery.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of this policy on the number of discharge opioid prescriptions provided and outpatient encounters observed postpartum.

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent vaginal delivery at our institution from November 2016 to January 2018.