Episode #7: What's Public Health Got to Do With It? Maternal Health, Substance Use, and the Criminal Justice System MCH Bridges: The Official AMCHP Podcast

This episode explores the unique experience of pregnant people navigating substance use disorders and the criminal justice system. Jenna’s Project, a program of UNC Horizons, works to support people in recovery at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women. In this episode, a mom shares her journey navigating incarceration while pregnant and recovering from a substance use disorder, and Essence Hairston, the program’s clinical instructor, offers her perspective on opportunities for the public health field to better support pregnant people who use substances.

Resources:
Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts: Integrating Obstetrical and Substance Use Disorder Treatment for Pregnant and Postpartum People in PrisonPrison Policy Initiative: What role does drug enforcement play in the rising incarceration of women?National Advocates for Pregnant Women: Punishing Pregnant Drug-Using Women: Defying Law, Medicine, and Common Sense Guttmacher Institute: State Laws and Policies on Substance Use During Pregnancy