Pregnant

Illuminate Colorado, an RCORP Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) grantee, and partners presented on their Tough as a Mother campaign. Tough as a Mother is a statewide campaign launched in May 2020 and has been working to decrease the stigma around maternal substance use disorder. The Illuminate Colorado Team provided an overview of their campaign and how others can access the shared resources, followed by time for Q&A.

A recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court changes federal protections for reproductive health care services to a decision made at the state level.  To help patients and providers better understand quickly changing policies, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services created a site to explain access to care for those with and without insurance coverage.  Research has shown rural-urban disparities in unintended pregnancies as well as an ongoing decline in obstetric services in rural areas. 

Investment in rural maternal care is a featured priority of the new all-of-government approach to high rates of maternal mortality across the United States.  The plan announced last week stresses more staff and capabilities for rural obstetrics and increased funding of the HRSA/FORHP-supported Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program.  A 2019 study from the Rural Health Research Gateway found a greater number of potentially life-threatening complications with childbirth in rural areas.

We began with a critical examination of the history of family separation in the US to lay the groundwork for a discussion of both provider and patient trust and mistrust. The stigma and discrimination that pregnant, postpartum, and parenting people with substance use disorder was explored. We concluded with concrete suggestions to improve provider wellness, child development, and community cohesion.

Pre- Pregnancy fact sheet. Information for Providers 

This guidance publication is intended to support the efforts of states, tribes, and local communities in addressing the needs of pregnant women with opioid use disorders and their infants and families. National data show that from 2000 to 2009 the use of opioids during pregnancy increased from 1.19 to 5.63 per 1,000 hospital births (Patrick, Schumacher, Benneyworth, Krans, McAllister, & Davis, 2012). Because of the high rate of opioid use and misuse among all women, including pregnant women, medical, social service, and judicial agencies are having to confront this concern more often and, in some communities, at alarming rates. This guidance document provides background information on the treatment of pregnant women with opioid use disorders, summarizes key aspects of guidelines that have been adopted by professional organizations across many of the disciplines, presents a comprehensive framework to organize these efforts in communities, and provides a collaborative practice guide for community planning to improve outcomes for these families. A set of appendices provides details on implementing the recommendations in the guide as well as a summary of lessons from one community’s experience over the past decade.

The Maternal and Child Health Update includes findings from a survey of senior state and territory health officials regarding MCH policy topics. Questions are modified from year to year to address new and emerging issues, with the latest iteration focused on Governors’ MCH priorities, coverage and payment reforms, health equity, behavioral health, health workforce, and improving health outcomes. Multiple agencies from states and territories contributed to the survey, including MCH Directors, Medicaid Directors, and Governors’ offices. Because the survey was designed before the COVID-19 pandemic, NGA conducted a supplemental survey focused on COVID-19 related MCH considerations and released findings in August 2020.

Developed for the Puerto Rico Department of Health, this toolkit discusses how to screen pregnant women for substance use, screen infants for prenatal exposure to substances, recognize the signs of NAS, utilize validated screening tools, understand the importance of provider education, and engage pregnant women in the process of treatment and referral.