Sending Office: Honorable Jaime Herrera Beutler
Sent By:
Craig.Wheeler@mail.house.gov
Over 170 Cosponsors – Support the Bipartisan Preventing Maternal Deaths Act
Dear Colleague:
In September 2016, a
Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology study highlighted an alarming trend – unlike in almost any other industrialized country, maternal deaths in the United States are on the rise. The maternal mortality rate — maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
— increased to 35.8 in 2014, up from 17.7 in 2000. The United States is ranked 47th globally for its maternal mortality rate.
Pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated deaths are caused by a variety of factors, from complications like preeclampsia to emerging challenges such as suicide and overdose
due to substance use disorders. In order to understand what is driving these tragic incidents and to help save lives, Congress should support state Maternal Mortality Review Committees, which are panels of experts who review pregnancy-related deaths
and recommend solutions to prevent them.
This public health crisis disproportionately affects women of color. African-American women are three to four times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than
white women. In 2011, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the maternal mortality rate for non-Hispanic white women was 12.5 deaths per 100,000 births compared with 42.8 deaths per 100,000 births for non-Hispanic black women.
I invite you to join me as a cosponsor of
H.R. 1318, the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, a bipartisan solution which will help end this public health crisis. H.R. 1318 will:
·
Help states establish or support Maternal Mortality Review Committees, which will offer solutions that are tailored to the unique needs of their state.
·
It will also standardize and streamline data collection efforts, helping address disparities and guiding national level efforts.
Please join me in supporting local solutions to address our nation’s maternal mortality crisis. To cosponsor this legislation, or if you have any questions, please contact Anna
Breen (anna.breen@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Herrera Beutler’s office or Sahil Chaudhary (Sahil.Chaudhary@mail.house.gov) in Rep. DeGette’s office.
Sincerely,
Jaime Herrera Beutler Diana DeGette
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Supported by:
Preeclampsia Foundation
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
March of Dimes
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Medical Association
Association of Women’s Health
American College of Surgeons
Society of OB/GYN Hospitalists
Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses
Nurse-Family Partnership
American Academy of Nursing
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College of Nurse-Midwives
Society of OB/GYN Hospitalists
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