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In 2017, Brigid’s Path in Dayton became the first newborn recovery center for babies born to mothers facing addiction. In 2020, the organization saw an 18 percent increase in the clients served.
Megan Zarnitz, assistant director at Brigid’s Path, one of very few neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) clinics in the national, said that big increase last year was a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A lot of our families who have been impacted by substance use disorders had a lot of their treatment disrupted a lot of their support, which is much more difficult during a really isolating time and period for everyone,” Zarnitz said.
Brigid’s Path provided care for 47 newborn babies and their mothers last year.
Zarnitz said without their organization, most of those infants would have gone directly into foster care.
“If the mom and baby aren’t able to go home together, that mom can come back in a really warm, safe and supportive space to visit with her little one while she’s still kind of working on her journey. So we continue to stay engaged with those moms as long as they’re interested in being engaged, ensure the relative or foster parent has support that they may need.”
With their help, almost 70 percent of the babies the clinic served were able to go home with a parent or family members, or to a so-called Safe Family while treatment continues.
The organization offers more information on its challenges and successes in a newly released 2020 Annual Report.
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