Recognizing the threat of air pollution and extreme heat to maternal and infant health, and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that meaningful interventions must be rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique vulnerabilities of pregnancy in Latino communities.

Bill: 118-hres-1494
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Barragán, Nanette Diaz [D-CA-44]
Introduced: 2024-09-24
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Latest action: action_date: 2024-09-24
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Summaries:
action_date: 2024-09-24
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This resolution recognizes there is an immediate need to equip pregnant Latinas and families with preventative tools and knowledge relating to air pollution and heat exposure and supports a variety of resources to support pregnant women and families.</p>

tv_txt: IV 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1494 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 24, 2024 Ms. Barragán (for herself, Mr. Grijalva , Ms. Velázquez , Ms. Tlaib , Mr. Cleaver , Ms. Ocasio-Cortez , and Mrs. Napolitano ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Recognizing the threat of air pollution and extreme heat to maternal and infant health, and expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that meaningful interventions must be rapidly and equitably developed and deployed to address the unique vulnerabilities of pregnancy in Latino communities.

Whereas there is a significant association between air pollution and heat exposure to maternal and fetal health outcomes in the United States; Whereas pregnancy represents a sensitive window of susceptibility to environmental toxins for women, as the pregnant body undergoes physiological changes in all major organ systems; Whereas air pollution can be linked to adverse maternal health outcomes, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, polycystic ovarian syndrome, subfertility, miscarriage, and failure of assisted reproductive technology; Whereas air pollutant exposure can be linked to reduced conception rates and fertility; Whereas exposure to particle pollution and ozone can lead to adverse birth outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth; Whereas prenatal exposure to air pollution can lead to asthma and allergy development in children, and increase offspring susceptibility to disease in adulthood; Whereas immigrant, low-income communities of color are two times as likely to live in the most polluted counties in the United States, compared with White mothers, even after controlling for maternal risk factors, region, and educational status; Whereas, of all groups, Latina mothers have the highest likelihood of living in areas with the highest levels of air pollution compared to their White counterparts; Whereas a statewide California study that assigned pollutant exposures using ambient air quality monitors showed that Latina mothers are at higher risk of experiencing stillbirth from ozone exposure throughout their entire pregnancy than other ethnicities; Whereas climate change is linked to and exacerbates ozone production in the atmosphere; Whereas pregnant women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as pregnancy naturally elevates the body’s temperature, makes it more susceptible to external temperatures, weakens its ability to thermoregulate, and increases risk of overheating; Whereas extreme heat increases the risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, and pregnancy loss; Whereas Latina women exposed to extreme heat had double or more the risk of preterm birth or stillbirth than White women; Whereas Latinos are disproportionately represented in the outdoor workforce, such as agriculture and construction, and therefore at higher risk of extreme heat exposure; Whereas older housing, a scarcity of green spaces, and lack of access to air conditioning increase the vulnerability of low-income pregnant women to heat; Whereas there is a large ethnic and racial gap in maternal morbidity and mortality between Latinas and non-Hispanic Whites; Whereas, even with private insurance, Latinas have a 22-percent higher rate of experiencing pregnancy problems; Whereas compounding inequalities and systemic racism heighten Latinas’ vulnerability during pregnancy due to preexisting conditions such as diabetes and obesity, socioeconomic status, education, lack of proper access to health care, and sexism and racism within health care systems that inhibit proper communication and treatment; Whereas language barriers and medical and institutional mistrust prevent Latinas from accessing critical information and from communicating needs to medical professionals; Whereas disproportionate exposure to pollution and climate-induced extreme heat can manifest itself in issues of mental health for pregnant Latinas during the postpartum period; Whereas Latinas already have a 40-percent greater risk of experiencing postpartum depression than White mothers; Whereas a University of Southern California study cohort of Latina mothers expressed fear, uncertainty, and frustration about power imbalances that prevented meaningful action to address outdoor air pollution and exposure to smog; Whereas Latinas become pregnant at a younger age than other racial and ethnic groups; and Whereas Latinas have the highest rate of pregnancy in the United States: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes that causes of health-harming and climate-warming sources of pollution must be mitigated, broad policy changes are needed, and that there is an immediate need to equip pregnant Latinas and families that are overburdened by air pollution and heat exposure with preventative tools and knowledge during this period of heightened susceptibility for maternal and infant health; (2) recognizes that legislation and funding must include considerations of not only the unique physical and mental vulnerabilities to environmental exposures for pregnant women but also the social and economic injustices faced by Latina mothers; (3) supports providing place-based information in English and Spanish regarding vulnerabilities of pregnancy and tangible and affordable action items pregnant women can take to reduce exposure to air pollution and heat; (4) supports the placement of air quality monitoring systems in Latino communities to track pollution levels and inform residents about health-harming conditions; (5) supports bilingual, easily accessible public alerts for air quality and extreme heat and weather; (6) supports the incorporation of education about the unique vulnerabilities of pregnant women to pollution and heat into professional training for health care professionals, educators, and child care providers; (7) supports the improvement of extreme heat and air pollution guidelines at community centers and health care facilities, especially those facilities that serve women; (8) supports mutual aid networks and community resilience programs to support pregnant women and families; (9) supports increased affordability of air conditioning units and air purifiers for pregnant women and families; (10) supports expanded access to cooling centers and hydration stations in public areas such as bus stops and clean rooms in communities near busy roads and polluting facilities; (11) supports the creation of more shaded and green spaces in low-income neighborhoods to provide relief from heat and promote community mental wellness; (12) supports the enforcement of regular work breaks, increasing access to hydration and shade, and providing bilingual education on the dangers of heat exposure in the outdoor workforce, especially for pregnant women; (13) supports increasing access to Latina doulas; and (14) recognizes the importance of community-based research and data collection to better understand the risks and needs in Latino communities.