Alcohol and Tobacco Use During Pregnancy

by  Christine Woolstenhulme, QMC QCC CMCS CPC CMRS
Mar 3rd, 2017

If a mother uses alcohol or tobacco during pregnancy, be sure to assign O99.31 "Alcohol use complicating pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium."

Document the time of the encounter (such as the trimester), during childbirth, or during the puerperium.

NOTE: You also need to assign a secondary code from category F10- to identify manifestation of the alcohol use.

The following are some examples:

• Alcohol use complicating pregnancy:
  • O99.310 unspecified trimester
  • O99.311 first trimester
  • O99.312 second trimester
  • O99.313 third trimester
• O99.314 Alcohol use complicating childbirth
• O99.315 Alcohol use complicating the puerperium