Are you a health care provider in Virginia looking to support pregnant and parenting families? Then this page is for you!
Health care providers play an important role in the lives of families. They can be one of the few trusted people that an individual has in their lives. At the same time, health care providers are often limited in their ability to support patients by their capacity and their area of focus. Having easily accessible information to support pregnant and parenting patients is key. Whether you routinely serve pregnant and postpartum families, or find yourself in need of more education on this population for the first time, below are a variety of resources that can be helpful to you.
Educational Resources for Providers
- Information on providing Respectful Maternity Care (RMC)
- Information on urgent maternal warning signs
Intimate partner violence (IPV) tools:
- Screening tools for providers
- Information on IPV, trainings, and resources to share with IPV survivors
- Privacy Principles for Protecting Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, Exploitation and Human Trafficking in Healthcare Settings
- Additional IPV resources for providers
Mental health and suicide prevention tools:
- VMAP for Moms+ - Virginia Mental Health Access Program | VMAP.org.
- VMAP is a great resource for providers. Related to treating patients with mental health issues, providers can receive:
- Education
- Training
- Consultations
- Care navigation support
- VMAP for Moms+ is a perinatal expansion of this program. It is available to Virginia prescribers who provide care to pregnant and postpartum individuals and/or their children, including OB/GYNs, primary care clinicians, midwives, pediatricians, and psychiatrists. Providers can receive a provider-to-provider consultation on caring for a pregnant or breastfeeding patients as it relates to behavioral health. They can also receive education on perinatal mental health topics, and connect their patients to care coordination services. To access VMAP for Moms+ Line, Virginia prescribers can call 888-371-VMAP (8627) and press 1 during normal business hours.
- VMAP for Moms+ also offers CME/CE trainings for Virginia PCPs on screening, diagnosing, and treating perinatal mental health conditions. These trainings are held in addition to their pediatric mental health offerings. Any Virginia PCP who provides care to pregnant and postpartum individuals and/or their children can register: Explore Trainings.
- VMAP is a great resource for providers. Related to treating patients with mental health issues, providers can receive:
- Information on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders
- Fact sheets, wallet cards, and other printable/sharable resources for Virginia 988, the suicide and mental health crisis hotline
- Screening tools for maternal mental health issues and/or substance use
- Information about infant and early childhood mental health for ages zero to 3
Information on substance use and treating substance use during pregnancy:
- SAMHSA guidelines for treating pregnant individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD)
- Frequently asked questions from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on marijuana use during pregnancy
- Information on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders from the CDC
- Guidance for healthcare providers on clinical best practices for supporting breastfeeding among individuals with substance use or substance use disorders
- Information on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) in Virginia from DBHDS
Information on well-child care:
- Guidance on well-child care from birth to age 21, including preventive care screenings and health supervision visits from the Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures
Information on rural health:
- Resources from the State Office of Rural Health’s website for providers working in rural areas. The Virginia Rural Health Plan also includes a section on moms and babies.
Resources for Having Critical Conversations with Patients about Substance Use
- Tips for using language to reduce stigma and negative bias when discussing substance use with pregnant women and mothers
- A PDF chart with guidance on word choice options to help reduce stigma when discussing substance use
- An example of an SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment) tool to use during appointments with patients
- Interactive course to support providers in working with children and families impacted by parental addiction, including talking points, practical strategies, and resources
Referrals and Resources to Share with Pregnant and Parenting Patients
Local Health Departments
Have you connected with your local health department? Local health departments can help connect your patients to programs such as BabyCare, home visiting, and WIC. Locate your health department and find contact information that you can share with your patients.
Referrals for mental health support/postpartum depression
Need to help a pregnant OR postpartum patient find a perinatal mental health providers, peer support, or receiving care coordination? Postpartum Support Virginia has helpful resources.
Referrals for substance use support: Have a patient with substance use issues that would benefit from substance use treatment?
- Connect them to their local Community Service Board to explore what support can be offered.
- Share with them the SAMHSA national hotline number and treatment locator:
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a free, confidential, 24/7 hotline that patients can call if they are in crisis or if they need less urgent help with mental health and/or substance use issues: 1-800-622-HELP (4357). They provide referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations.
- SAMHSA also has a treatment locator that patients can use to identify places to get help with stopping using substances.
Referrals for pregnancy loss and stillbirth support
Need to support an individual or family who has recently experienced pregnancy loss? Visit the VDH Pregnancy Loss Support page for resources to share with families.
Referrals for support for pregnant teens
Know a pregnant or parenting teen who would like to enroll in the Resource Mothers program? Fill out this form. Staff at VDH will receive the form and direct the teen to one of the Resource Mothers programs or another program for teens in the area.
Referrals through UniteUs Virginia
Some providers also participate in Unite Us Virginia, which is coordinated care network consisting of healthcare, government, nonprofit, and other community-based organizations that has a closed loop referral system for social needs. Learn more here.
Example on how to make a referral or ”warm hand-off’ from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Are you a provider working in a hospital?
If your facility is a birthing hospital, please consider participating in the Virginia Maternity Center Breastfeeding Friendly Designation Program. Participating is an opportunity to receive recognition and celebration for the steps your facility is taking to support and promote human milk feeding. This program utilizes the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding from the World Health Organization and UNICEF. All birthing facilities are eligible to apply for designation, and they are evaluated based on how many of the Ten Steps they implement into their practices and policies. The VA MCBFD Program does not charge hospitals a fee to participate and does not include site visits from VDH staff. The program website provides more information and directions on applying for designation.
Birthing hospitals across the state can also connect with the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Quality Collaborative and learn more about how they can participate in quality improvement initiatives geared towards improving perinatal and infant care.