II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3797 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to support stillbirth prevention 

and research, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 10 (legislative day, MARCH 7), 2022 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. CASSIDY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to support 

stillbirth prevention and research, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Maternal and Child 

5 Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) According to the Centers for Disease Con9 trol and Prevention— 


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1 (A) in the United States, 1 in 169 births 

2 are affected by stillbirth each year amounting 

3 to 23,500 stillbirths annually, of which 6,900 of 

4 these are Black or African-American stillbirths; 

5 (B) the number of stillbirths each year is 

6 greater than the number of babies that die dur7 ing the first year of life; 

8 (C) annual stillbirths are more than ten 

9 times the number of annual deaths due to Sud10 den Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS); 

11 (D) stillbirth occurs across all demo12 graphics and in otherwise healthy pregnancies. 

13 It is most common, however, among women 

14 who— 

15 (i) are Black or African American, at 

16 two times more likely than White women 

17 to have a stillbirth; 

18 (ii) are of lower socioeconomic status; 

19 (iii) are diagnosed with high blood 

20 pressure, diabetes, obesity, or other med21 ical conditions; 

22 (iv) are 35 years of age or older; 

23 (v) smoke cigarettes while pregnant; 

24 (vi) have previously experienced preg25 nancy loss; or 


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1 (vii) have multiple pregnancies, for ex2 ample triplets; and 

3 (E) while the rate of stillbirth has declined 

4 since the 1940s due to improvements in mater5 nity care, in recent years, the decline has 

6 slowed or halted. 

7 (2) According to a study by researcher Wall8 Wieler et al., published in Obstetrics and Gyne9 cology, ‘‘the risk of severe maternal morbidity 

10 among stillbirth deliveries was more than fourfold 

11 higher compared with live birth deliveries’’. 

12 (3) According to a study by researcher McClure 

13 et al., published in the International Journal of Gyn14 ecology and Obstetrics, ‘‘stillbirth was significantly 

15 associated with maternal mortality’’. 

16 (4) According to a review article by Murphy 

17 and Cacciatore, published in Seminars in Fetal & 

18 Neonatal Medicine, stillbirth has psychological im19 pacts on parents like grief, shame, and guilt and im20 pacts to family functioning and well-being. 

21 (5) Stillbirth, and the disparity in those im22 pacted by stillbirth requires further research, sup23 port, and prevention programming. 


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1 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION SUPPORTING PERMISSIBLE USE OF 

2 FUNDS FOR STILLBIRTH PREVENTION AC3 TIVITIES. 

4 Section 501(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 701(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘to re7 duce the incidence of stillbirth,’’ after ‘‘among chil8 dren,’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting after ‘‘follow10 up services’’ the following: ‘‘, and for evidence-based 

11 programs and activities and outcome research to re12 duce the incidence of stillbirth (including tracking 

13 and awareness of fetal movements, improvement of 

14 birth timing for pregnancies with risk factors, initia15 tives that encourage safe sleeping positions during 

16 pregnancy, screening and surveillance for fetal 

17 growth restriction, efforts to achieve smoking ces18 sation during pregnancy, community-based programs 

19 that provide home visits or other types of support, 

20 and any other research or evidence-based program21 ming to prevent stillbirths)’’. 

Æ 


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