Stillbirth is a public health crisis, with over 21,000 babies born still every year in the United States ― the annual number of deaths far exceeds the top five leading causes of deaths among children ages 0-14 years combined, including unintentional injuries, congenital anomalies, preterm birth, homicide, SIDS, and heart disease. Racial disparities persist in stillbirth, with 1 out of every 101 Black pregnancies ending in stillbirth. Native Pacific Islander, Hispanic and Indigenous women are also at greater risk of losing their babies. And yet, even with numbers like these, stillbirth remains one of the most underfunded and understudied public health issues in the United States.

The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act will provide both clarity and a compelling call of action from Congress to state health departments across the nation that they CAN and SHOULD use a portion of the existing $2.6 billion of Title V Block Grant funding to prevent stillbirth. The Title V Block Grant is the single largest funding mechanism to support maternal and child health issues in the United States. In fact, in 2022 the grant impacted 93% of or nearly 3.5 million pregnant women in the United States, but to date, funding is not being properly leveraged to prevent stillbirth as only one-third of states are using any of their Title V Block Grant dollars on stillbirth prevention activities, leaving American families unnecessarily vulnerable to enduring the tragedy of stillbirth.

In honor of the tens of thousands of babies stillborn every year in this country, we are asking you to take a minute out of your day to urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the bipartisan Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act (H.R. 4581/S. 2231). Momentum is building to address the stillbirth crisis --- the U.S. Senate passed the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act by unanimous consent on September 30, 2023.  Vital progress was made during the March 20, 2024 House Energy and Commerce Full committee markup hearing, when the bill went uncontested and received 44-0 bipartisan votes to move forward. 

Your support is needed to push this vital legislation across the finish line before the 118th Congress comes to a close at the end of the year. Please fill out the form in the right column to contact your members of Congress today and ask others to join you in this important cause!

Thank you to the following organizations that endorsed the bill in the 118th Congress: 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, Ninde Doula Program-Division of Indian Work, Healing Our Hearts Foundation, In the Arms of Jesus Remembrance Photography and Grief Support, Birth and Breastfeeding in Color Inc., Nurturing Babyhood N’ Beyond, LLC, Haven, Kansas Birth Justice Society, Mera's Mission, ICP Care, Jace's Journey, Birth Matters b/c Family Matters, Ancient Wisdom Birth Services, Charles Martin Corvi Fund, Grayson’s Footprints Foundation, Gifts from Liam, The Little Timmy Project, The Shane Foundation.