Free and open to the public! Snacks will be provided!

Drugs, Pregnancy and Parenting:
What Experts In Medicine, Social Work and Law Have to Say

Conference Program
Friday, October 15, 2010

Welcome
2:00-2:15

Catherine Roden-Jones, Director of The Alabama Women’s Resource Network

Introduction and Framework: Stigma vs. Science
2:15-2:30

Ms. Jack will review of the national and Alabama-specific legal climate and social perspectives concerning drug use during pregnancy. The presentation will include information on current legal issues including civil and criminal child welfare cases and the use of expert evidence at trial. The presentation will also address how scientific experts and zealous defense impact these individual cases and state-wide efforts to improve maternal and child health.

Panelist:
Kathrine Jack, J.D., Staff Attorney for National Advocates for Pregnant Women

Panel I. Prenatal Drug Exposure: What Does the Science Tell Us?
2:30-4:30

Popular media accounts of addiction, drug use, and infants with intrauterine exposure to psychoactive substances often differ from actual research findings. Even among research studies, levels of accuracy and reliability of methods range from effective use of the scientific method to junk science. Leading physicians and researchers will address ways to distinguish reliable, evidence-based science from misinformation, what a positive drug test can and cannot tell us, discuss what we can learn from the scientific research on effects of prenatal exposure to cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, and address the role of evidence-based research on these drugs in efforts to protect children and preserve families.

Moderator:
Kathrine Jack, J.D., Staff Attorney for National Advocates for Pregnant Women
Panelists:
Deborah Frank, M.D., Founder and Director of the Grow Clinic at Boston Medical Center and principal investigator of the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program ("C-SNAP").
Dr. Curtis Lowery, M.D., Professor, Specialist in Maternal-Fetal Medicine; Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Hospital Director of Obstetrics at University of Arkansas School of Medicine
Professor Bisakha Sen, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Maternal and Child Health, University of Alabama School of Public Health

Break
4:30-4:45

Panel II. Pregnancy in Alabama: How Do State Policies on Drug Use Affect Maternal and Child Health?
4:45-5:30

Presenters will review evidence-based responses and resources to address drug and alcohol use during pregnancy as a public health issue. Presenters will address Alabama-specific concerns and local resources to help pregnant women and will also discuss issues of effective drug treatment for pregnant and parenting women. How do responses to addiction compare to responses to other chronic relapsing diseases and to mental health problems including anxiety and depression?

Moderator:
Katherine Jack, Staff Attorney of National Advocates for Pregnant Women
Panelists:
Brenda D. Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the University of Alabama School of Social Work
Ms. Towan MacCarty, Mother and parent advocate with Alabama Women’s Resource Network