This article discusses the societal implications of substance abuse by pregnant women and women of child-bearing age and reviews their treatment needs as documented in the literature. It then provides a treatment model for pregnant women, using the Southcentral Foundation-Dena A Coy Residential Treatment Program as a model program. II outlines a number of components that ale critical to successful substance abuse treatment of these women; specifically, medical interventions, social service provision, educational/vocational services, psychoeducational programs, psychotherapy, substance abuse interventions, and family preservation and involvement. These components are superimposed on a therapeutic community model that stresses gender and cultural relevance, as well as supportive structure and direction. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.