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A state law requiring hospitals to tell the state when a newborn tests positive for drugs wrongly hurts mothers who take medication to overcome addiction.
When Worcester resident Keri McCallum delivered her first child seven years ago, she was actively using drugs, and the Department of Children and Families removed her daughter. When McCallum got pregnant a second time three years later, she was ready to get sober. She started taking buprenorphine, a prescription medication commonly used to treat substance use disorder. When her son was born, she was seven months sober.
New mothers should not be penalized for taking prescription medications
The Boston Globe
Kirsten Puccio gave birth to her daughter in August 2020. It was a moment she had both eagerly awaited and dreaded for months.
Upon delivery, Puccio’s doctors were legally mandated to report her to the
Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for child abuse and neglect because she was taking methadone, a medication prescribed by her doctor to aid in her recovery from an opioid use disorder.
Some hospitals are changing their response when babies are born exposed to drugs
CNN
Southcoast Health launched the New Beginnings program in 2015 in response to an emergent and urgent need-more and more mothers and infants experiencing perinatal substance exposure.
Southcoast quickly collaborated with local funders, including the Carney Family Charitable Foundation, to establish the program [...]
From Pilot to Sustainability, a Critical Program Thrives with Funder Support
Southcoast Annual Report of Philanthropy
Baystate Franklin Medical Center received a $1 million federal grant to expand its EMPOWER program. Women ages 18 or older, who are pregnant, postpartum or parenting a child less than three-years-old “are going to be eligible for the program if they have a history of [substance] use disorder or a history of overdose,” said Linda Jablonski, assistant nurse manager at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. [...]
Baystate Franklin Medical Center receives $1M grant to expand EMPOWER program
WWLP-22News
PITTSFIELD — When Ariel Errichetto found out she was pregnant, she was terrified. She was on methadone, medication to treat opioid use disorder, and she feared that postpartum moment of facing the Department of Children and Families. If drugs, including methadone, are detected in a newborn or the person who just gave birth, a report of alleged child abuse or neglect is filed with the state agency. Three days after giving birth in mid-August, DCF did come, but Errichetto was prepared. [...]
How Berkshire Connections helps moms who have substance use disorder
The Berkshire Eagle
Seven years ago, when Kerry McCarthy was suffering from postpartum mental illness, she couldn’t find a support system. "The transition to new motherhood was intense, immense and brought overwhelming feelings that I did not understand," said McCarthy, who found out later she was suffering from postpartum depression. Since then, times have changed. Due to an increase in awareness around mental health, postpartum awareness and support has been growing. [...]
The weeks and months after giving birth are hard. For Cape moms, there's a support system.
The Cape Cod Times
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