Healthy Expectations Resource (HER) Toolkit

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources statistics show that about 65 out of every 1,000 babies born in 2020 in West Virginia were born affected by drugs, a 10% increase from the previous year. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia had the nation’s highest rate of babies born dependent on drugs at 33.4 per 1,000 hospital births in 2013, compared with the national average of 5.8. NAS can include body shakes, breathing problems, poor feeding, trouble sleeping, and can even lead to long-term health and development issues for the baby.

HER is intended for use by a variety of providers, including medical, behavioral health, social services, legal, and other community-based programs that are caring for pregnant and parenting women, their infants, and families who have been affected by substance use. By walking the user through a screening process, the user will be able to comprehensively assess the needs of the pregnant or parenting women at risk for substance use. Based upon the individual’s needs, HER will then locate the resources and information for the user who will then have the information needed to help the woman, her infant and/or family.