Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022
Bill: S.3797 | Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff (D-OR)
Policy area: Social Welfare

Summary:
Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act of 2022
This bill expands the scope of the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to include research and activities to prevent stillbirths.

To amend title V of the Social Security Act to support stillbirth 
            prevention and research, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth 
Prevention Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention--
                    (A) in the United States, 1 in 169 births are 
                affected by stillbirth each year amounting to 23,500 
                stillbirths annually, of which 6,900 of these are Black 
                or African-American stillbirths;
                    (B) the number of stillbirths each year is greater 
                than the number of babies that die during the first 
                year of life;
                    (C) annual stillbirths are more than ten times the 
                number of annual deaths due to Sudden Infant Death 
                Syndrome (SIDS);
                    (D) stillbirth occurs across all demographics and 
                in otherwise healthy pregnancies. It is most common, 
                however, among women who--
                            (i) are Black or African American, at two 
                        times more likely than White women to have a 
                        stillbirth;
                            (ii) are of lower socioeconomic status;
                            (iii) are diagnosed with high blood 
                        pressure, diabetes, obesity, or other medical 
                        conditions;
                            (iv) are 35 years of age or older;
                            (v) smoke cigarettes while pregnant;
                            (vi) have previously experienced pregnancy 
                        loss; or
                            (vii) have multiple pregnancies, for 
                        example triplets; and
                    (E) 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) According to a study by researcher Wall-Wieler et al., 
        published in Obstetrics and Gynecology, ``the risk of severe 
        maternal morbidity among stillbirth deliveries was more than 
        fourfold higher compared with live birth deliveries''.
            (3) 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) 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) 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.

    Section 501(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 701(a)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``to reduce the 
        incidence of stillbirth,'' after ``among children,''; and
            (2) 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)''.
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