I am writing to encourage you to support the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act in the 118th Congress. This bipartisan and vitally important bill would add stillbirth and stillbirth prevention to Title V of the Social Security Act — something that has been lacking since the introduction of Title V funding back in 1935. Title V currently leaves off stillbirth from the most important piece of maternal health legislation in our country. Every year, 42,000 expectant parents endure the tragedy of stillbirth, according to the CDC. The annual number of stillbirths far exceeds the number of deaths among children aged 0-14 years from preterm birth, SIDS, accidents, drownings, guns, fire, and flu combined. Racial disparities persist, with 1 out of every 97 Black pregnancies ending in stillbirth. Pacific Islander and Indigenous women are also at greater risk enduring stillbirth. The legislation recognizes that stillbirth (defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater during pregnancy), and the disparity in those impacted by stillbirth, requires further research, support, and prevention programming. It also calls 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 pregnant people with risk factors, initiatives that encourage safe sleeping positions for pregnant people, screening and surveillance for fetal growth restriction, efforts to achieve smoking cessation amongst pregnant people, community-based programs that provide home visits or other types of support, and any other research or evidence-based programming to prevent stillbirths. In the 118th Congress, the following organizations have endorsed the bipartisan bill: Thank you to the following organizations that endorsed the bill: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), National Education Association (NEA), Healthy Birth Day, March of Dimes, 2 Degrees Foundation, PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy, Reproductive and Placental Research Unit Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences Yale University School of Medicine, 1st Breath, Amniotic Fluid Embolism (AFE) Foundation, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), Every Mother Counts, M.E.N.D. (Mommies Enduring Neonatal Death), Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, Measure the Placenta, Mom Congress, Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health (formerly 2020 Mom), Postpartum Support International, Return to Zero: H.O.P.E., RH Impact, Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI), Start Healing Together, SUDC Foundation, What to Expect Project, Aaliyah in Action, Mattie's Memory. We would be so grateful for your support!

It is unacceptable that 44,000 expectant parents will lose their baby to stillbirth this year. Currently, the annual number of stillbirths far exceeds the number of deaths among children aged 0-14 years from preterm birth, SIDS, accidents, drownings, guns, fire, and flu combined. Without your help this silent crisis is only going to get worse. The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act is a critical piece of legislation that would add stillbirth and stillbirth prevention to Title V of the Social Security Act — something that has been lacking since the introduction of Title V funding back in 1935. I encourage you to please support this bill. The legislation recognizes that stillbirth (defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or greater during pregnancy), and the disparity in those impacted by stillbirth, requires further research, support, and prevention programming. It also calls 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 pregnant people with risk factors, initiatives that encourage safe sleeping positions for pregnant people, screening and surveillance for fetal growth restriction, efforts to achieve smoking cessation amongst pregnant people, community-based programs that provide home visits or other types of support, and any other research or evidence-based programming to prevent stillbirths. We would be so grateful for your support --- we encourage you to sign on as a co-sponsor as soon as this legislation is introduced.