WV Releases Health Advisory on Perinatal HIV

The following advisory information is taken from WV Health Advisory #217. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public has confirmed an infant born with perinatally acquired HIV. Perinatal transmission of HIV is when HIV is passed from a person with HIV to their child during pregnancy, birth or through breastfeeding. This is the first case ... Read More

World Doula Week – WSAZ Interview with WV RMOMS Project Director Shauna Lively

Watch the full WSAZ interview by Martina Bills with WV Rural Maternity and Obstetric Management Strategies (WV RMOMS) Project Director Shauna Lively by clicking here. Recent news Free Zoom Presentation on Screening for Perinatal Mood and Anxiety DisordersAugust 1, 2024WV Office of Drug Control Policy to Host Town Hall Meetings in AugustAugust 1, 2024WV Measles Case Announcement – First Since ... Read More

Substance Use and Domestic Violence ECHO Training Series

Substance Use and Domestic Violence ECHO Training Series Join our 12-session training series on domestic violence, substance use, and substance use coercion to learn about ways to better support survivors with substance use histories and their families. Thursdays from 12-1pm EST March 30th to June 15th, 2023 Registration Required **Continuing Education Credits Pending**   March 30, 2023 Understanding Domestic Violence, ... Read More

WV Medicaid Services Memorandum on Telehealth COVID-19 and News Link

View Original Memorandum : Telehealth COVID Precautions Message from Cynthia Beane, MSW, LCSW, Commissioner: "Due to the World Health Organization declaring Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a pandemic, the West Virginia Bureau for Medical Services (BMS) is allowing all telehealth services listed in the BMS policy manual, and the temporary telehealth services approved during the COVID-19 pandemic, referenced in BMS release memos, ... Read More

FAQs for Opioid Use Disorder Prescribing and Dispensing in the COVID-19 Emergency

The WV Bureau for Behavior Health  would like to share the following  information from SAMHSA on OUD Prescribing and Dispensing during the COVID-19  emergency: 5600 Fishers Lane • Rockville, MD 20857 www.samhsa.gov • 1-877-SAMHSA-7 (1-877-726-4727) FAQs for Opioid Use Disorder Prescribing and Dispensing in the COVID-19 Emergency In response to the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, SAMHSA is providing answers ... Read More

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

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

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