July 14, 2024 - BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Last week, Senator Chuck Grassley released the following:
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today applauded the enactment of the bipartisan Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act, a bill he championed alongside U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). The law will help curb infant mortality by enabling evidence-based stillbirth efforts to qualify for federal funding.

“Stillbirth prevention researchers and advocates will now have more resources to advance their work. Especially given modern medical and technological capabilities, no family should have to endure the heartbreak of a stillbirth. Many thanks to everyone – Iowa organizations in particular – who’s had a hand in advancing our commonsense bill into law. Today’s win will have a domino effect for expectant families nationwide, for years to come,” Grassley said.  

“Today is a huge milestone in our fight to end stillbirth, the unexpected loss of a baby after more than 20 weeks of pregnancy. I am proud to have worked with so many incredible advocates, many of whom have endured the heartbreak of stillbirth, to bring this vital legislation across the finish line and expand federal resources for stillbirth prevention. I thank President Biden for signing this bipartisan legislation into law, and I will continue my work to improve maternal health care access for more healthy moms and healthy babies,” Hinson said. 

Background

The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act amends Title V, the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant of the Social Security Act, to clarify congressionally allocated resources may be deployed for stillbirth prevention research.

Grassley and Hinson earlier this Congress teamed up to raise awareness of stillbirth occurrences. Roughly 21,000 babies in the United States are stillborn each year. While recent data suggest nearly 25 percent of these incidences may be avoidable, stillbirth rates in the United States declined by a negligible 0.4 percent within the last two decades. 

Notably, Iowa has defied national trends due to grassroots education initiatives: within a 10-year span ending in 2018, stillbirths in the state declined by over 30 percent. In 2019, Iowa received a five-year grant from the Health Resources & Serves Administration to develop a maternal health task force. It has also supported state-level data surveillance on maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, as well as innovative projects for maternal health service delivery. 

Additional Grassley Bills on Maternal & Prenatal Health Care

• The Healthy Moms and Babies Act would improve maternal and child health by delivering high-quality coordinated care, supporting women and babies with 21st century technology and taking other steps to reduce maternal mortality.
• The MOMS Act would expand women’s access to health care resources during the prenatal, postpartum and early childhood development stages of motherhood. 
  Source: Senator Chuck Grassley