MARGARETVILLE – Margaretville Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), is leading a comprehensive program that supports expecting and newborn parents challenged with addiction while helping to prevent substance use disorders among people of childbearing age.
The hospital directs the Catskills Rural Communities Opioid Response Program Consortium, which features pre-pregnancy education, peer counseling, medication-assisted addictions treatment and other services.
The consortium program is the first in Delaware County, Margaretville Hospital’s home community, to provide expecting families with comprehensive care coordination that includes critical peer recovery support.
According to Linda Woodbine, PhD, WMCHealth’s director of Network Addiction Services, the program addresses “the unique issues and needs of expecting and newborn families” with substance use disorders.
“Being a new parent is difficult for anyone, but for community members also battling substance use issues, the challenge is even greater, both during pregnancy and after childbirth,” said Woodbine. “Our program is critical for Delaware County and its surrounding communities as it offers the support services parents need to foster a healthy, nurturing environment for their children, and themselves.”
The program’s key are a wellness coordinator and certified peer recovery advocates who serve as “the foundation for the prevention, treatment, and recovery strategies of our program,” Woodbine said. The coordinator and recovery advocates are trained as postpartum doulas and offer parents evidence-based information on infant feeding, emotional and physical recovery from childbirth, mother-baby bonding, infant soothing, and basic newborn care.
“Research shows moms and dads are better equipped to handle the early rigors of parenthood if a good support team is in place,” said Woodbine. “This is especially true for parents with substance use disorders.”
