Substance Exposed Infants

The RCORP-TA NAS II Onboarding Packet is a tool to support the implementation of planned activities and to expand SUD/OUD services across the care spectrum thereby helping rural residents in communities to prevent SUD/OUD, access treatment, and move toward recovery.

This presentation will focus on the relationship between trauma and substance use as it relates to treatment for women, as well as a discussion of impactful trauma-informed and gender-responsive interventions. The evidence-based interventions will be based on Seeking Safety and Finding Your Best Self models, both of which are present-focused and easily implemented in any treatment setting.

Cohort-Specific Sessions/Activities and Day 2 Wrap-Up

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.

This session shared recent trend data on opioid and methamphetamine use, overdose rates, and the prevalence of neonatal abstinence syndrome in rural places across the U.S. In addition, data was presented on who is treating opioid use disorder in rural places and on the health workforce providing mental health services for rural patients.

IMPORTANCE Thousands of pregnant people with opioid use disorder (OUD) enter US jails annually, yet their access to medications for OUD (MOUD) that meet the standard of care (methadone and/or buprenorphine) is unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess the availability of MOUD for the treatment of pregnant individuals with OUD in US jails.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) together with leading clinicians, researchers, and policy experts led the development of a standard clinical definition for opioid withdrawal in infants to help improve care.  It is accompanied with a set of foundational principles that outlines bioethical uses for the definition, distinctly centering around identifying clinical and supportive care needs of mothers and their infants, using an evidence-based, compassionate, and equitable approach.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked at data from six states mandated to report on neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a condition that occurs when newborn babies experience withdrawal from drugs.  A previous study of these states – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia – indicated that the reporting helped determine the prevalence of NAS and identify communities more severely affected.  The current report is based on answers to a follow-up questionnaire given to epidemiologists and birth defects program managers from the same six states. 

Lightning Round

Day 2: Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Each RCORP-NAS grantee listed will provide a 5-minute summary of its innovation, followed by 10 minutes for audience Q&A.

Day 2: Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Maternal Treatment Approaches to Reduce NAS

This session will review evidence-based approaches available for rural providers to treat OUD in pregnancy and minimize NAS.

Marjorie Meyer, MD, Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, The University of Vermont