Why are you making this available only through hospitals and other medical professionals?

• The clinicians managing the care of each baby should decide who should view the information and have the opportunity to discuss each lesson, as applicable, with their patient(s).
• The app and its non-judgmental approach to education is a helpful tool in bridging the “trust gap” that often exist between the mother and the clinician.
  

Why can't mothers just "Google"? I can find lots of information concerning "NAS education for parents". What are the advantages of this app?

• Importantly, when people use Google, they don’t always know if they are looking at credible information and clinicians have no way of knowing if someone is reading information that is not applicable to a specific situation/person. Incorrect or inappropriate advice can be dangerous.

• The amount of information that surfaces during a Google search can be overwhelming, plus it can be difficult to relocate the exact same document or website to refresh memories or look up new info.
  
• An app gives us the ability to update or add information quickly and inexpensively.  It also allows us to proactively let users know there are updates.
• An easily assessable app, on a device that is almost always with the parent, provides instant access to needed information and permits the parents to educate themselves privately, at their own pace, and without being judged.

Can a hospital provide this education through any other means than the App?

Yes, in addition to using smartphones and tablets, they will be able to get a version that works on desktop computers or through the TV networks in patient’s rooms. However, the app itself is an important part of maximizing the accessibility, effectiveness, and value to the parents.

What would hospitals consider as “success factors” related to using this educational tool?

• Improve recognition of, and nonjudgmental support for, addicted and dependent mothers and infants.
• Optimize non-pharmacologic treatments for NAS infants and their families.
• Attain improved use of breast milk in infants being treated for NAS, whenever possible.
• Turn families into “partners for life” by engaging them, educating them, and making them active participants in creating a safer environment for the baby and mother.
  

If I contribute to your GoFundMe campaign, exactly what will the money be used for?

The NAS Parent Educator™, in it’s current form, is only the beginning. We hope to secure enough funding to help expand the scope of the program and to further our initiative to bring other resources to bear on this huge problem. For example, we are already planning for and beginning to work with other organizations interested in the following:

• Expanding the resources included within the NAS Parent Educator™.
• Providing specialized education and support to professionals who deal directly with individuals and families affected by opioids and neonatal abstinence syndrome.
• Developing education and intervention tools for women who are pregnant but still using opioids.
  
• Developing ways to continue to engage and educate mothers/families after discharge from the hospital to help stabilize the home environment, provide a safer environment for the baby, and increase the mothers' chances for a successful rehab.
• Subsidizing the cost of providing the NAS Parent Educator™, as well as implementing our traditional new-parent, educational programs in rural and economically disadvantaged, community hospitals.