West Virginia study published in Pediatric Research on prenatal alcohol exposure in late pregnancy

Local researchers published a study in Pediatric Research estimating the most recent prenatal alcohol exposure prevalence data for the state of West Virginia (WV) and associated factors. Researchers tested  newborn residual dried blood spots and used data from the states PROJECT Watch program to find that the prevalence of prenatal alcohol exposure for all births in WV was 8.10%. This ... Read More

Mothers, Babies Overlooked in the Drug Crisis

By Gaby Galvin, U.S. News & World Report Staff writer  |  December 30, 2019  | Read Original Story at U.S. News & World Report News The U.S. drug epidemic is evolving – and physicians say mothers and babies may be left behind in its latest wave. Pregnant women who are addicted to opioids often struggle to access treatment and services, and ... Read More

Perinatal health experts encourage less smoking, more breastfeeding for southern West Virginia

By Wendy Holdren, The Register-Herald See the Original Article Photo by: Rick Barbero Smoking and breast feeding are two major areas for perinatal health improvement in southern West Virginia. As part of Wednesday's conference "Focus on Perinatal Health — Strengthening Regional Partnerships to Improve Outcomes," Candice Hamilton, assistant director of Project WATCH, reviewed a number of statistics for Region 1, which includes Mercer, ... Read More

West Virginia Bucks Rising United States Maternal Mortality Trend

By Kara Leigh Lofton, West Virginia Public Broadcasting See the Original Article The United States has some of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world -- and unlike most other first-world countries, our rates are going in the wrong direction. American women are three times more likely to die during or after birth than women in Great Britain ... Read More

Maternal Smoking Before and During Pregnancy and the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Infant Death

  See original CNN article: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/11/health/smoking-infant-sudden-death-risk-study/index.html See journal article: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2019/03/07/peds.2018-3325 Researchers from the Seattle Children’s Research Institute in Washington analyzed data on smoking during pregnancy from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s birth/infant death data set between 2007-2011. They recently published their findings in the scientific journal, Pediatrics. They found that the risk of death rises by .07 … Read More