Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses Obstetric Patient Safety Course

Separate registration and prerequisite completion required.

WV Perinatal Partnership Board of Directors

Invitation Only – Lunch provided.

Drug Free Moms and Babies Program

This is an invitation-only meeting of the multidisciplinary team members working in the Drug Free Moms and Babies program.

WV Breastfeeding/CHAMPS National Meeting

This is an invitation-only meeting of West Virginia hospitals participating in the Breastfeeding CHAMPS project.

Substance Use During Pregnancy Advisory Council and Maternal Mental Health Advisory Council

This is a joint meeting of the members of the Substance Use During Pregnancy Advisory Council and the Maternal Mental Health Advisory Council.

Tobacco Free Families Advisory Council Meeting

This is an open meeting of the Tobacco Free Families Advisory Council.

Perinatal Hepatitis C in West Virginia

Invitation Only – Dinner Provided

This session brings together maternity care providers to discuss perinatal hepatitis C in West Virginia. Through a facilitated discussion, participants will identify barriers to care, share best practices, and explore opportunities to strengthen care coordination and family support.

Professor and Associate Director of Cancer Research Education and Training Coordination
Cancer Prevention and Control
West Virginia University Cancer Institute
Morgantown, WV

WV Affiliate of American College of Nurse-Midwives Quarterly Meeting

This meeting provides an opportunity for learning and networking. Dinner included.

Documentary Screening: More Than Blue

Join us for a screening of More Than Blue, a powerful documentary that explores the realities of maternal mental health, resilience, and recovery through personal stories and expert perspectives. This thought-provoking film offers an opportunity for reflection and meaningful conversation as we open the Perinatal Summit focused on improving outcomes for mothers, infants, and families.

AWHONN Trivia Night

Open to nurses who are current or prospective AWHONN members.

Contact Mary Beth – mbstewart@wvperinatal.org

The State of Perinatal Health in West Virginia: 20 Years of Progress and the Road Ahead

This presentation combines the latest birth and health outcome data with a retrospective look at the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership’s first 20 years. Discover how statewide collaboration, evidence-based initiatives, and quality improvement have driven measurable progress in perinatal care—and explore the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of maternal and infant health.

Executive Director
West Virginia Perinatal Partnership
Charleston, WV

Board Chair and Chairperson Central Advisory Council
West Virginia Perinatal Partnership
Assistant Professor
WVU Medicine Department of OB/GYN
Buckhannon, WV

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Policy Change: Implications of Medicaid Policy Change for Maternal and Infant Health

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted sweeping changes to Medicaid financing and eligibility that will have implications for coverage during the perinatal period and for the health care systems that families rely on for support. This talk will review the major changes coming to West Virginia Medicaid, including expected impacts on moms, babies, and families, and highlight opportunities to mitigate harm.

Senior Director, Federal Advocacy
American Academy of Pediatrics
Washington, DC

Milk is Medicine

This session will explore the powerful impact of human milk for the prevention of morbidity and mortality. Methods for sharing the science of human milk with families so that all families can make an informed feeding choice will be discussed. The presentation will also highlight how the state of milk (fresh, frozen, pasteurized) can impact vital components of human milk.

Professor of Perinatal Nursing
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Philadelphia, PA

Breakout 1: Empty Arms

The Loss of a Dream: Perinatal Bereavement

This presentation will explore the complicating factors of early pregnancy loss and how they impact the grieving process for parents. Ways that providers can help parents explore those feelings will be examined and discussed.

Clinical Social Worker
Perinatal Partnership
Morgantown, WV

Invisible Grief: Supporting Moms with CPS Involvement

Postpartum patients whose infants have been placed in the care of Child Protective Services (CPS) due to substance use during pregnancy may experience profound grief, shame, fear, and loss—emotions that can significantly increase the risk of substance use recurrence, overdose, and suicide.
 
This session explores the critical role healthcare professionals play in recognizing these vulnerabilities and responding with compassionate, trauma-informed care. Participants will gain insight into the emotional impact of infant separation, understand how stigma can affect recovery, and learn practical strategies for connecting mothers with life-saving resources before hospital discharge.

Project Coordinator
Substance Use During Pregnancy Initiatives
West Virginia Perinatal Partnership
Charleston, WV

Breakout 2: Understanding the Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence, Substance Use, and Mental Health (Part 1)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has profound effects on health and well-being and frequently intersects with substance use and mental health concerns. This session will explore the complex relationship among these issues, including less recognized forms of abuse such as substance use coercion and mental health coercion, which can be used to manipulate, control, and undermine an individual’s recovery, treatment, and overall health. Participants will examine current research, learn why integrated approaches to identification and intervention are essential, and develop a foundational understanding of trauma-informed care. This session provides the framework for the practical strategies and application-focused discussions presented in Part 2 during Friday’s breakout session.

Faculty Instructor, Certified Nurse Midwife
WVU School of Nursing
Morgantown, WV

Breakout 3: Facilitating Parents’ Lactation Journey Upon Return to Work and/or School

This session will focus on evidence-based strategies to support families who must return to work and/or school while continuing their lactation journeys. Research findings and employee lactation program strategies with proven outcomes will be shared. A review of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act will be included.

Professor of Perinatal Nursing
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Philadelphia, PA

Breakout 4: Navigating Complex Pregnancy Care in West Virginia’s Current Legal Environment

As reproductive healthcare laws continue to shape clinical practice, healthcare providers face new considerations when caring for patients with high-risk and medically complicated pregnancies. This presentation will examine how West Virginia Code §16-2R “Unborn Child Protection Act” affects the management of medically complicated pregnancies and its implications for obstetric care, maternal-fetal medicine, emergency care, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Through clinical scenarios and discussion, this session is designed to encourage participants to explore approaches for providing evidence-based, patient-centered care while navigating legal requirements, ethical considerations, and shared decision-making.

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Morgantown, WV

Breakout 5: Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are an innovative trend in simulation using puzzles and games to teach and evaluate clinical knowledge, teamwork, and collaboration. Participants in this breakout will be divided into two groups and each group will complete a neonatal and maternal escape room during the session. The escape rooms are appropriate for nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians.

Group 1: Neonatal Hypoglycemia and Maternal Sepsis
Group 2: Neonatal Sepsis and Maternal Cardiomyopathy

Manager of Women’s and Children’s Services
Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby
WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital
South Charleston, WV

Birthing Center Manager
WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital
Morgantown, WV

Nurse Practitioner
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
WVU Medicine
Martinsburg, WV

Clinical Management Coordinator
Teays Valley Obstetrics and Gynecology Center
Vandalia Health
Teays Valley, WV

The Other 97% of the Day: Sitting Less, Moving More, and Pregnancy Health

This presentation will begin by reviewing historical and current recommendations for exercise during pregnancy and describing how even people who exercise may spend most of their day sitting. Findings from the Pregnancy 24/7 cohort study—which included participants from West Virginia and was recently published in the Journal of American Medical Association—demonstrate that excessive sitting doubled the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes. Practical strategies for reducing sedentary behavior, particularly during pregnancy will be discussed.

Professor and Chair
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
West Virginia University, School of Public Health
Morgantown, WV

Perinatal Mental Health Screenings: Aligning Patient Experience and Clinical Utility

This presentation will explore how to bridge the critical gap between obtaining reliable clinical data and providing a respectful, trauma-informed care experience for perinatal individuals. Pivotal updates developed and validated to modernize the perinatal mental health (PMH) screening process will be discussed.This session will demonstrate how aligning psychometrically sound screening instruments with the patient screening experience may facilitate open clinical conversations, lead to earlier symptom recognition, and empower a person-centered, holistic approach to PMH screening.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Family and Community Health Nursing
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA

A Case for a “Banana Bag”…Wernicke’s Encephalopathy in Hyperemesis Gravidarum

Nausea and vomiting is a common symptom in the first trimester of pregnancy and it can often be trivialized. This presentation will describe the case of a Haitian patient with severe hyperemesis gravidarum, and how language barriers and/or implicit bias may have delayed diagnosis and led to the development of Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Evidence-based treatment regimens for hyperemesis gravidarum will be reviewed in order to decrease symptoms, optimize nutritional status, and potentially prevent negative neurological impact.

Department Chair
OB/GYN Department
WVU Medicine
Morgantown, WV

High Risk Maternal Nurse Specialist
OB/GYN Department
WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital
Morgantown, WV

Birth Vibes with Jen Hamilton

Wrap up Day 1 of the Summit by meeting special guest Jen Hamilton before the evening reception. Browse her book, Birth Vibes, and purchase a signed copy ahead of her keynote presentation on Day 2. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to connect with one of the Summit’s featured speakers.

20th Anniversary Celebration Banquet

Join us for a special evening as we celebrate 20 years of improving the health and well-being of West Virginia’s mothers and babies. This commemorative banquet will honor the dedicated healthcare professionals, partners, and champions whose collaboration has transformed perinatal care across the state while looking ahead to the next generation of innovation and impact. The evening will feature a special appearance and inspiring remarks by nationally recognized labor and delivery nurse and social media educator Jen Hamilton, along with special recognitions and opportunities to reconnect with colleagues and friends.

The After Party!

The celebration doesn’t end with dinner! Join us for music, dancing, photo booths, and a lot of fun as we celebrate 20 years of collaboration, friendship, and improving the lives of West Virginia’s mothers and babies. Reconnect with colleagues, make new memories, and help us toast the next 20 years of the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership.

Creating Informed & Empowered Experiences by Making Birth S.A.F.E.R.

After polling her online audience of over 6 million, Jen Hamilton found that most birth trauma could be prevented by making birth S.A.F.E.R., an acronym created by Hamilton to help clinicians easily remember how to mitigate birth trauma. In this engaging and empowering presentation, Jen shares the 6 promises she gives her patients, stories and strategies for empowering your patients through their birthing experience, and how to speak up and advocate for your patients, all communicated in her notoriously easy-going, humorous, and engaging style.

Registered Nurse
Labor & Delivery
Greensboro, NC

Group Photo

Join fellow attendees for our annual Summit group photo as we capture this year’s gathering and celebrate our shared commitment to improving the health and well-being of West Virginia’s mothers, babies and families.

Compassion Fatigue

In their varied critical roles, healthcare providers are potentially subject not only to physical fatigue, but also psychological fatigue. This type of fatigue can entail emotionally relevant stress among healthcare workers, borne of their compassion in serving their patients and communities; this particular type of fatigue is known as compassion fatigue. This presentation will define compassion fatigue, its relevance to healthcare workers and how it can manifest and be managed in healthcare providers.

Professor
Department of Environmental Health and Engineering
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Baltimore, MD

Breakout 1: Building the Village After Discharge – A Panel Discussion

This session explores the transition of the family from birth to the postpartum period. Establishing connections to resources and support is critical for families settling in with a new baby. Knowing who can answer questions, provide breastfeeding support, and assist with finding social support really does “Take a Village!” Hear from a panel of community support professionals to help your clients meet their post-discharge needs.

Moderator:

Director, Community Health Programs
West Virginia Perinatal Partnership
Lewisburg, WV

Panelists:

Owner of Highland Birth Support
Elkins, WV

Community Coordinator
WV Healthy Start/HAPI (Helping Appalachian Parents and Infants) Project
Morgantown, WV

WIC Liaison to WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital
Monongalia County Health Department
Morgantown, WV

Certified MEGI High-Risk Doula, PAILAdvocate®, LATCH Leader
Certified High-Risk Doula & Maternal Health Advocate
Parkersburg, WV

Breakout 2: From Screening to Support—Trauma-Informed Responses to IPV and Coercion (Part 2)

Recommended for participants who attended “Understanding the Intersection of Intimate Partner Violence, Substance Use, and Mental Health (Part 1)” on Thursday, November 5.

Building on the foundation established in Part 1, this session focuses on translating knowledge into meaningful action. Participants will explore practical strategies for moving beyond screening to engage individuals experiencing intimate partner violence, substance use concerns, mental health challenges, and coercion in safe, supportive, and trauma-informed conversations. The session will address approaches to safety planning, confidentiality, care coordination, and connecting individuals with appropriate healthcare and community resources to strengthen compassionate, collaborative responses.

Faculty Instructor, Certified Nurse Midwife
WVU School of Nursing
Morgantown, WV

Breakout 3: Caring for the Tiniest Babies: Delivery Room Stabilization, Transport, and Early NICU Care for Infants <25 Weeks

This session will focus on practical, team-based approaches to the care of infants born at less than 25 weeks’ gestation, from prenatal and delivery-room preparation through early stabilization, NICU transition, transport readiness, and the first 24–72 hours of life. Emphasis will be placed on multidisciplinary communication, thermoregulation, respiratory and hemodynamic support, vascular access, family communication, and common early-care pitfalls for Infants <25 weeks gestation.

Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
West Virginia University Golisano Children’s Hospital
Morgantown, WV

Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
West Virginia University Golisano Children’s Hospital
Morgantown, WV

Breakout 4: Reproductive Health: Empowering Women Through Access, Knowledge and Choice

This breakout session will explore the issues related to contraceptive counseling and how it can help provide a client-led approach to reproductive health. The presenters will explore issues of bias, inequitable care, and harmful practices that have influenced the way women are provided contraception.

My Decision/Mi Decision: A decision aid for patients considering tubal sterilization

My Decision/Mi Decisión is a free, web-based decision aid for people considering tubal sterilization. In a randomized controlled trial, it significantly improved knowledge and reduced decisional conflict about tubal sterilization compared to usual care alone. This presentation will demonstrate how My Decision/Mi Decisión can support West Virginia patients in making informed decisions about permanent contraception.

Research Coordinator
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
CONVERGE
Pittsburgh, PA

Contraceptive Care Without Bias or Judgment to Improve Access

This presentation will address current practices that impede providing equitable and appropriate care, and how education for women and providers can help reduce the risk of coercive practices and explore innovative models for improving access to contraceptive care.

Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences
West Virginia University School of Medicine
Morgantown, WV

Breakout 5: Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are an innovative trend in simulation using puzzles and games to teach and evaluate clinical knowledge, teamwork, and collaboration. Participants in this breakout will be divided into two groups and each group will complete a neonatal and maternal escape room during the session. The escape rooms are appropriate for nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, and physicians.

Group 1: Neonatal Hypoglycemia and Maternal Sepsis
Group 2: Neonatal Sepsis and Maternal Cardiomyopathy

Manager of Women’s and Children’s Services
Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby
WVU Medicine Thomas Memorial Hospital
South Charleston, WV

Birthing Center Manager
WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s Hospital
Morgantown, WV

Nurse Practitioner
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
WVU Medicine
Martinsburg, WV

Clinical Management Coordinator
Teays Valley Obstetrics and Gynecology Center
Vandalia Health
Teays Valley, WV

Understanding Neurodivergence in Pregnancy and Postpartum Care

Neurodivergent individuals often experience pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery in ways that standard clinical models don’t fully capture, which can impact both screening accuracy and the quality of care they receive. This session offers practical, provider-focused insight into recognizing neurodivergent presentations in patients and delivering more informed, individualized support throughout the perinatal period.

Owner & Founder
Neuro Spicy Birth
Fishers, IN

Carrying the Momentum: Our Path to the Next 20 Years

Board Chair and Chairperson Central Advisory Council
West Virginia Perinatal Partnership
Assistant Professor
WVU Medicine Department of OB/GYN
Buckhannon, WV