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H.R. 4581 — what changed

Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2024

From Introduced in House to Reported in House. 2 sections amended and 1 removed between Introduced in House and Reported in House.

Section 1 Short title

changed This Act may be cited as the “Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2023”.2024”.

Sec. 2 Clarification supporting permissible use of funds for stillbirth prevention activities

changed Congress finds Section 501(a) of the following:Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701(a)) is amended—

(1)
changed According to in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting “to reduce the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—incidence of stillbirth,” after “among children,”; and
(A)
removed in the United States, 1 in 175 births are affected by stillbirth each year amounting to approximately 21,000 stillbirths annually;
(B)
removed of the 20,854 reported stillbirths in 2020, over 5,000 were experienced by Black mothers;
(C)
removed the number of stillbirths each year is greater than the number of babies that die during the first year of life;
(D)
removed annual stillbirths are more than ten times the number of annual deaths due to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS);
(E)
removed stillbirth occurs across all demographics and in otherwise healthy pregnancies. It is most common, however, among women who—
(i)
removed are Black or African American, at two times more likely than White women to have a stillbirth;
(ii)
removed are of lower socioeconomic status;
(iii)
removed are diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, or other medical conditions;
(iv)
removed are 35 years of age or older;
(v)
removed smoke cigarettes while pregnant;
(vi)
removed have previously experienced pregnancy loss; or
(vii)
removed have multiple pregnancies, for example triplets; and
(F)
removed 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.
(2)
changed According to a study by researcher Wall-Wieler et al., published in Obstetrics paragraph (2), by inserting after “follow-up services” the following: “, and Gynecology, “the risk for evidence-based programs and activities and outcome research to reduce the incidence of severe maternal morbidity among stillbirth deliveries was more than fourfold higher compared with live (including tracking and awareness of fetal movements, improvement of birth deliveries”.timing for pregnancies with risk factors, initiatives that encourage safe sleeping positions during pregnancy, screening and surveillance for fetal growth restriction, efforts to achieve smoking cessation during pregnancy, community-based programs that provide home visits or other types of support, and any other research or evidence-based programming to prevent stillbirths)”.
(3)
removed According to a study by researcher McClure et al., published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, “stillbirth was significantly associated with maternal mortality”.
(4)
removed According to a review article by Murphy and Cacciatore, published in Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, stillbirth has psychological impacts on parents like grief, shame, and guilt and impacts to family functioning and well-being.
(5)
removed Stillbirth, and the disparity in those impacted by stillbirth requires further research, support, and prevention programming.

Sec. 3 Clarification supporting permissible use of funds for stillbirth prevention activities

removed

removed Section 501(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701(a)) is amended—

(1)
removed in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting “to reduce the incidence of stillbirth,” after “among children,”; and
(2)
removed in paragraph (2), by inserting after “follow-up services” the following: “, and for evidence-based programs and activities and outcome research to reduce the incidence of stillbirth (including tracking and awareness of fetal movements, improvement of birth timing for pregnancies with risk factors, initiatives that encourage safe sleeping positions during pregnancy, screening and surveillance for fetal growth restriction, efforts to achieve smoking cessation during pregnancy, community-based programs that provide home visits or other types of support, and any other research or evidence-based programming to prevent stillbirths)”.