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MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH STILLBIRTH PREVENTION ACT OF 2022
______
HON. ALMA S. ADAMS
of north carolina
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
Ms. ADAMS. Madam Speaker, today, I proudly introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022, alongside Representative Hinson, Senator Merkley, and Senator Cassidy.
For too long, stillbirth has been a silent crisis. According to a recent study, nearly 1 in 4 stillbirths are potentially preventable. And the data comparing the United States to other countries informs that our nation can do more to prevent stillbirth.
In our nation, an alarming 23,500 babies are stillborn every year. This is greater than the number of babies that die during the first year of life and more than ten times the number of babies that die annually due to sudden infant death syndrome.
While the rate of stillbirth has declined since the 1940s due to improvements in maternity care, in recent years, the decline has slowed or halted. Stillbirths increase the risk of maternal mortality and morbidity and negatively impact parental mental health and family well-
being.
Like many of the health crises in our country, disparities exist, and Black women are over two times more likely than White women to have a stillbirth. Stillbirth rates are also high for American Indian or Alaska Native women, who are almost 1.5 times as likely to have a stillbirth compared to White women. Hispanic women also experience higher rates.
Despite impacting families from all backgrounds and women with otherwise healthy pregnancies, stillbirth is more common for women who are 35 years or older, of lower socioeconomic status, for women who have multiple pregnancies, like twins or triplets, and women who have already experienced the loss of a pregnancy.
In addition, stillbirth also occurs more commonly amongst women who smoke while pregnant or are diagnosed with certain medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, or obesity.
Further, women from less advantaged backgrounds and who are marginalized, continue to experience a greater burden of stillbirth. And these disadvantages are further impacted by the social determinants of health. For example, women in maternity care deserts and rural areas have fewer healthcare providers. Nationwide, approximately 10 percent of births take place in counties with limited access to maternity care.
According to The Lancet, in a 2016 study, the United States ranked number 48 out of 49 high-income countries in annual stillbirth rate reduction. Furthermore, in comparison with the same group of countries, the United States stillbirth rate per 1,000 births was higher than 24 other countries.
All the available data suggests that further reduction in the incidence of stillbirth is possible. And the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act will help reverse this shocking trend of stillbirths and maternal mortality in the United States.
My bill amends Title V, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant of the Social Security Act, to clarify that stillbirth prevention activities are an allowable use of funds. This clarification will support stillbirth prevention activities, thereby saving the lives of mothers and babies.
In 1966, at a press conference for the Second Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said:
``Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhuman because it often results in physical death''.
The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act will help address this health injustice and ensure that more babies experience a healthy birth and make it home with their families.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 42(1), Congressional Record Vol. 168, No. 42(2)
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