Leaders Focus on Pregnant Women in Suisun City Forum

Excerpted from Nov. 4 Vacaville Reporter >>click for more>>

By Erin Pursell/Staff Writer

The issue of prenatal substance abuse drew a lively crowd of 160 county leaders, health officials and experts and community members to a BabyFirst Solano forum Wednesday in Suisun City.

The purpose of the forum was to increase awareness and discuss support for the Solano County's pregnant women.

"Basically we're all trying to work together for the first time to provide a system of care for women who may be using substances while they're pregnant," said Jayleen Richards, a project manager for BabyFirst who helped organize the event. "A big piece is focusing on providing all these services within the prenatal care site so it becomes a sort of one-stop shop."

BabyFirst, which receives funding from First 5 Solano, is a public and private partnership aimed at creating a countywide, comprehensive system of care and support for mothers to help enable them - through education and support - to deliver and raise healthy, drug-free babies, staff said.

Wednesday's event focused on the agency's Prenatal Substance Abuse Initiative that has been ongoing for nearly a year.