Grant benefits mothers, newborns
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News from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center
POLSON – Mothers with newborns experiencing Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) on the Flathead Reservation will have access to a “A Bridge to Hope” thanks to a $42,600 grant award from the Montana Healthcare Foundation to support this project at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The Bridge to Hope project begins this month.
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome occurs when babies are exposed and become dependent before birth to the drugs their mothers have taken during pregnancy. The babies experience withdrawal upon birth, including symptoms such as irritability, difficulty sleeping, seizures, increased breathing rate, and jaundice. Babies suffering from NAS may have to spend extra time in the hospital, possibly in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The length of stay depends on the severity of the baby’s withdrawal symptoms and how long it takes to wean the baby off medications.
The Montana Healthcare Foundation awarded a one-year grant to the Bridge to Hope project building on a previous Foundation grant that helped to create the Wrapped in Hope Project which addressed perinatal drug use in the region and now will extend care to families after delivery. The Bridge to Hope project will be conducted in partnership with the CSKT Tribal Government and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.
Emily Hall, MD, a pediatrician at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, leads the innovative approach to positively impact and enhance mother-infant bonding for babies with NAS. Dr. Hall’s training and extensive experience in providing medical care in rural and low-resource communities are key to the success of the Bridge to Hope project.
According to data collected at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center for drug use in pregnancy in the first half of 2016, 27 percent of deliveries indicated positive for drug use. Of those deliveries indicating positive, 29 percent tested positive for multiple substances. Dr. Hall shared that:
“Mothers sometimes experience the hospital environment as stressful. The concerns of a mother who is using substances are sometimes intensified, fearing exposure as a ‘bad’ parent and fearing losing her baby to the child welfare system. These fears may result in mothers distancing themselves from their infants. Research has demonstrated that for babies born with prenatal opioid exposure, more time with parents next to them eased withdrawal symptoms and shortened hospital stays.”
The Bridge to Hope project is designed to reduce the time that a mother and baby are separated from each other while the baby is in the hospital for NAS treatment. The project will engage mothers in the care of their infants through an ongoing series of 10 maternal support group sessions while their newborns are hospitalized. A licensed addiction counselor, in partnership with a pediatrician and nursing staff, will conduct the sessions. The mothers will receive materials and modeling related to the holistic care of their infants aimed at facilitating mother-infant bonding. Bridge to Hope is intended to increase an addicted mother’s voluntary participation in area drug treatment programs by the time her infant is discharged from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.
Dr. Hall believes that the Bridge to Hope project can significantly influence the health and well-being of mothers, babies, and families on the Flathead Reservation. She shared:
The value and impact that the project can have on infants experiencing NAS is clear and profound. Studies have reported the positive impact of supportive assistance for mother-infant bonding, leading to lifelong patterns of children forming trusting, healthy relationships with their families and others.
The Providence Montana Health Foundation received the Bridge to Hope grant on behalf of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The Foundation is a Montana-focused healthcare foundation that supports the mission of Providence St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Polson, and over 40 clinics and programs throughout Western Montana.
