Category: General Information

Motherhood is a time in many women’s lives in which they look forward to. Tiny booties, darling onesies, and numerous congratulations are typically in order. However, mothers who use substances are often deprived of this joy because of the stigma they encounter. Fear of custody battles, harsh judgment, and ridicule – that is what these mothers face, even when in recovery for their disease. Mothers who have a substance use disorder are deemed instantly unfit, but the truth of the matter is these moms care and want the best for their children like many other mothers. The moms care to the point they are willing to battle the monster of addiction, which is not a small feat.   […]

Read A Mother with Substance Use Disorder is Still a Mother

Recently, adverse babyhood experiences (ABEs) have expanded on what is known about childhood adversity. ABEs are ten categories of negative events that happen to a mother before she conceives a child and the negative events that occur during pregnancy, labor, and up to the child’s third birthday. […]

Read Adverse Babyhood Experiences: A Focus for Prevention

What happens during one’s childhood has a tremendous impact on the way their body and mind develop, with both adverse and positive childhood experiences playing their own roles. […]

Read Shaping Health Through Childhood Experiences

Did you know people with substance use disorder are at increased risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19? IMPACT WV is working to increase vaccine confidence among those with substance use disorder by delivering targeted outreach messages based on the Stages of Change. […]

Read Raising COVID-19 vaccine confidence in those impacted by Substance Use Disorder

Did you know that individuals with disabilities frequently develop substance use disorders to offset physical pain, emotional and mental disorders, low moods, and anxiety? It is not uncommon for disability and addiction to switch roles between cause and effect. Some individuals struggling with a substance use disorder end up developing a disability or disabilities as a result of their alcohol or drug abuse, whereas other individuals begin using alcohol or drugs as a means to cope with their disability. […]

Read Individuals with Disabilities & Substance Use: Let Talk About It

Navigating DHHR Benefits can be tricky, especially since COVID restrictions do not allow most workers on site. The good news is figuring out your benefits doesn’t have to make you pull your hair out. I’m going to review a few of the common benefits and how to best get in contact with a worker if you are needing more assistance. […]

Read Navigating DHHR Benefits When You Are Having Difficulty Connecting With A Worker

One of the most difficult concepts to put into practice, when you are a mother, is self-care. “Self” is not a word that comes to mind when you are a mother. Your hair is decorated with cheerios, your clothes are saturated with bleach or food stains, and your name is a constant echo. But who really suffers when we don’t care for ourselves? Who usually get’s the irritability that follows? […]

Read Who Suffers When There’s No Self-Care?

As a pediatric dentist, I often hear some comments from parents and family members about why they believe the young patients have cavities on their baby teeth. […]

Read A few myths about cavities in baby teeth

It is often said, a smile is the window to the soul –but can substance use really affect one’s smile and overall oral health? …. The answer is a resounding YES! Even after just a short period of substance use, whether it be through drugs or alcohol, your oral health can begin to reveal the signs of addiction. The bottom-line is, your oral health reflects everything you do.

So, how does substance use affect teeth and oral health? […]

Read Substance Use and Oral Health

There are ways to build and strengthen the characteristics that keep WV families strong and resilient. Through the strengthening of coping strategies and by building resilience, WV families can deal more effectively with stressful events and eliminate some of the risk and negative impact of times of stress and anxiety. By building the factors that protect us from breaking down and/or giving up, we can learn to find balance and overcome negative impacts more constructively and effectively. Strong families build stronger communities! […]

Read What are Protective Factors?