Better Family, Prenatal Care Key To Fighting Addiction, Says W.Va. Drug Control Director

Nearly two months after stepping into his role as director of the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy (ODCP), Stephen Loyd has outlined some of his priorities for addressing addiction in the state. Key among them is bolstering family and prenatal health care.

Loyd, a physician and addiction specialist, came to the Mountain State by way of Tennessee in August. He addressed members of the state’s Joint Committee on Children and Families Sunday during the West Virginia Legislature’s interim session.

From practicing medicine and navigating substance use disorder himself, Loyd said he came to recognize the importance of addressing addiction and its risk factors on the family level.

“The first step of prevention for substance use disorder is treatment of mom and dad, because it’s about the household that the kid was raised in,” he said.

Preventing substance use disorder can be easier than providing treatment retroactively, according to Loyd. This means the sooner in a patient’s medical journey that health care providers address addiction, the better.

In part, Loyd said this means helping residents access mental health resources, because unaddressed mental health needs can contribute to drug usage.

It also means ensuring health care providers can identify signs of substance use disorder and provide effective treatment, he said. Loyd added that a coordinated treatment system must help residents regardless of how they come to seek help — be it through law enforcement, family referral or their own volition.

“Building a system that, no matter where you touch this thing, you get the help that’s right for you,” he said. “That’s the goal.”

He said adults with substance use disorder are more likely to experience unexpected pregnancies, which could result in children being born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a form of dependency on drugs among children exposed to them in the womb.

To address this, he advocated for increasing addiction support in prenatal health care settings, and providing parents access to “long-action contraception” like intrauterine devices, or IUDs.

IUDs are T-shaped plastic devices that can be inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy.

Most West Virginia health insurance carriers reimburse for IUDs, according to Loyd. But health care providers should ensure parents are aware that IUDs are an option, and that they remain widely accessible, he said. That way, residents can better plan for the possibility of parenthood.

“If we’re going to prevent babies being born drug dependent, we’ve got to have access to long-action contraception,” he said.

Loyd said he is “already encouraged” by the programs that exist in West Virginia to help families and expectant parents. But reinforcing resources related to addiction and health care more broadly can reduce family exposure to risk factors and prevent substance use disorder.

“The challenge now is: How do we increase the utilization?” Loyd said. “How do we decrease the stigma around people with substance use disorder so they’ll step out and get help?”