,,iv #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,,res4 #eci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ai1 #bjba,mr4 ,mc,eachin 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,underwood1 ,ms4 ,kelly of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,spanberger1 and ,ms4 ,wexton7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce ,,resolution ,recognizing the maternal health crisis in the ,united ,states and the importance of reducing mortality and morbidity among all women1 and honoring mothers4 ,whereas the pregnancy-related mortality ratio1 defined as the number of pregnancy-related deaths per #ajj1jjj live births1 more than doubled between #aihg and #bjag2 ,whereas the ,united ,states has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries2 ,whereas of all pregnancy-related deaths between #bjaa and #bjae-- 7#a7 nearly #ca percent occurred during pregnancy2 7#b7 about #cf percent occurred during childbirth or the week after childbirth2 and 7#c7 #cc percent occurred between one week and one year postpartum2 ,whereas more than #fj percent of maternal deaths in the ,united ,states are preventable2 ,whereas1 in #bjad alone1 #ej1jjj women suffered from a near miss or severe maternal morbidity1 which includes potentially life-threatening complications that arise from labor and childbirth2 ,whereas #bh percent of women who gave birth in a hospital in the ,united ,states reported experiencing one or more types of mistreatment1 such as-- 7#a7 loss of autonomy2 7#b7 being shouted at1 scolded1 or threatened2 and 7#c7 being ignored or refused or receiving no response to requests for help2 ,whereas certain social determinants of health1 including bias and racism1 have a negative impact on maternal health outcomes2 ,whereas significant disparities in maternal health exist1 including that-- 7#a7 ,black1 ,american ,indian1 and ,alaska ,native women are more than #c times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause as are ,white women2 7#b7 ,black women are more than #b times as likely to suffer from severe maternal morbidity as are ,white women2 7#c7 ,american ,indian1 ,alaska ,native1 and ,hispanic women are about #a4e times as likely to suffer from severe maternal morbidity as are ,white women2 7#d7 women who live in rural areas have a greater likelihood of severe maternal morbidity and mortality compared to women who live in urban areas2 7#e7 over #ej percent of rural counties do not have a hospital with obstetric services2 7#f7 counties with more ,black and ,hispanic residents and lower median incomes are less likely to have access to hospital obstetric services1 and existing hospital obstetric services in such counties are more likely to be closed2 7#g7 ,american ,indian and ,alaska ,native women living in rural communities are twice as likely as the general population of women nationwide to report receiving late or no prenatal care2 and 7#h7 ,black1 ,american ,indian1 ,alaska ,native1 and ,hispanic women seeking maternal care are more likely to be mistreated by their providers2 ,whereas #dh ,states1 the ,district of ,columbia1 and ,puerto ,rico have designated ,maternal ,mortality ,review ,committees 7,m,m,r,cs7 that-- 7#a7 despite remaining inactive in the late #aihjs1 resurged in #bjaf due to a disparate rate of deaths by race2 7#b7 work in partnership with the ,centers for ,disease ,control and ,prevention 7in this resolution1 referred to as the ,,cdc7 to comprehensively assess maternal deaths1 identify opportunities for prevention1 and provide recommendations to reduce maternal deaths2 and 7#c7 have shown that understanding1 raising awareness1 and developing policies specific to maternal health lead to improved health outcomes2 ,whereas there has been an increase in participating ,states promoting consistent and safe maternity care through the ,alliance for ,innovation on ,maternal ,health1 demonstrating the urgency and importance that ,states are under and the need for ,federal initiatives to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality2 ,whereas community-based maternal health care models1 including midwifery childbirth services1 doula support services1 community and perinatal health worker services1 and group prenatal care1 in collaboration with culturally competent physician care1 show great promise in improving maternal health outcomes and reducing disparities in maternal health outcomes2 ,whereas many organizations have implemented initiatives to educate patients and providers about-- 7#a7 all causes of1 contributing factors to1 and disparities in maternal mortality2 7#b7 the prevention of pregnancy-related deaths2 and 7#c7 the importance of listening to and empowering all women to report pregnancy-related medical issues2 ,whereas the ,,cdc1 for the first time in over a decade1 released a report on ,january #cj1 #bjbj1 assessing the ,united ,states maternal mortality rate which-- 7#a7 found in #bjah1 the maternal mortality rate was #ag4d maternal deaths per #ajj1jjj live births2 7#b7 found the maternal mortality rate for non-,hispanic ,black women was more than double that of non-,hispanic ,white women at #cg4a deaths per #ajj1jjj live births compared to #ad4g1 and #c times the rate of ,hispanic women 7#aa4h72 and 7#c7 used a new standardized methodology to improve the accuracy of ,states reporting maternal deaths1 but still had methodological concerns potentially leading to the underreporting of maternal mortality data 7such as the ,,cdc report excluding mothers over the age of #dd and only accounting for deaths within #db days of giving birth1 potentially omitting later postpartum deaths72 ,whereas the ,,covid-#ai pandemic has added increased risks and burdens to pregnant women1 such as-- 7#a7 an increased rate of severe ,,covid-#ai infection1 hospitalization1 and mortality2 and 7#b7 increased anxiety throughout pregnancy and during delivery2 ,whereas ,,covid-#ai vaccine trials for pregnant women were delayed1 leading to conflicting guidelines and vaccine hesitancy among mothers2 ,whereas among ,,covid-#ai infections in pregnant women-- 7#a7 ,hispanic women have a disproportionate risk for ,,sars-,co,v-#b infection and a higher risk for death compared with nonpregnant ,hispanic women2 7#b7 ,asian and ,native ,hawaiian and ,pacific ,islander women have a disproportionately greater risk for intensive care unit admission2 and 7#c7 ,black women have a disproportionally greater risk of death2 and ,whereas several ,states1 communities1 and organizations recognize ,january #bc as ,maternal ,health ,awareness ,day to raise awareness about maternal health and promote maternal safety3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7 acknowledges the ,united ,states deeply troubling maternal health crisis and supports expedited ,federal action on reducing the rates of maternal mortality in the ,united ,states1 including-- 7,a7 raising public awareness about maternal mortality1 maternal morbidity1 and disparities in maternal health outcomes2 and 7,b7 encouraging the ,federal ,government1 ,states1 territories1 ,tribes1 local communities1 public health organizations1 physicians1 health care providers1 and others to take action to reduce adverse maternal health outcomes and improve maternal safety2 7#b7 promotes initiatives-- 7,a7 to address and eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes2 7,b7 to ensure respectful and equitable maternity care practices2 and 7,c7 to decrease ,,covid-#ai vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine availability among pregnant women2 7#c7 honors the mothers who have passed away as a result of pregnancy-related causes2 7#d7 supports collecting better data on maternal mortality and morbidity2 and 7#e7 supports and recognizes the need for further investments in efforts to improve maternal health1 eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes1 and promote respectful and equitable maternity care practices4