How to Care for Pregnant Patients During the Opioid Crisis

View original PEW news article here As the opioid epidemic has unfolded in the United States, many newborns have had to grapple with the health effects of their mothers’ substance misuse. Federal statistics show that between 2004 and 2014, for example, the incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) among babies born to women receiving Medicaid increased more than 400 percent. ... Read More

Study: 8 Percent Of West Virginia Babies Exposed To Alcohol Before Birth

View original WVUTODAY news release here About 8 percent of West Virginia newborns are exposed to alcohol two to four weeks before birth, according to a new study. “Alcohol exposure during the last trimester is associated with a range of developmental problems that may not be overtly expressed as cranio-facial deformities, but when these children go to school, you see ... Read More

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

Drug Free Moms and Babies Abstract Presented at APHA 2018 Conference

This past fall, Dr. Christa Lilly, PhD presented at the annual American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting and expo in San Diego, California. Her presentation was titled “Quantitative and qualitative assessment of the Drug Free Moms and Babies Project: A rural, Appalachia pilot project to support healthy baby outcomes.” The Drug-Free Moms and Babies Project (DFMB) pilot program (4 sites; … Read More