La. leaders explore solutions for pregnant women battling addiction

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There is already a lot of stigma around substance abuse, and for mothers battling addiction it can make pregnancy even more challenging.

“And I didn’t know that until a constituent of mine, who was a nurse, brought that to me. And then as I started talking to providers they said yea this is a real thing,” said Senator Stewart Cathy (R) from Monroe.

For the last several months, the Special Commission on Women’s Health has been looking at anything they can do to improve Louisiana’s dismal record. During Tuesday’s discussion, they explored ways to identify early signs of abuse, access to care, and how to increase prevention. All of which require resources.

“You’ve got some places that are an hour away from quality healthcare options those people don’t have the resources to take off and so this is a way to extend those resources to them,” Sen. Cathy continued. Because this is a fiscal session, lawmakers are only allowed to submit 5 bills this season. Senator Cathy says at least one of his bills will deal with this issue. “I’m looking at some type of tax credit to allow pregnant mothers to be incentivized to go get prenatal care. Which will ultimately improve the outcomes of babies in the state,” added Sen. Cathy.

Other suggestions included increasing the number of case managers to link women with services for childcare and housing. As well as reducing the stigma, emphasizing substance abuse isn’t a moral failure but rather a chronic disease.

This was the last commission meeting before lawmakers return to the Capitol for the next session. The report they’ve been drafting over the last several meetings is expected to be finished before the end of the year.

That report will sort of be the blueprint for any legislation around maternal health moving forward.

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