Hawkeye Reporter

Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) have reintroduced the Healthy Moms and Babies Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving maternal and child health care across the United States. The legislation seeks to address the ongoing maternal health crisis, which has seen rising mortality rates, particularly among women in rural areas and women of color.

According to data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, maternal mortality in the U.S. increased from 17.4 per 100,000 births in 2018 to 22.3 per 100,000 births in 2022.

Grassley emphasized the need for better support for pregnant mothers and their babies. “We must do a better job at supporting pregnant mothers and their babies. Our bipartisan legislation will enable high-quality coordinated care to our most vulnerable moms. Through community-based efforts and 21st century technology, we can prevent maternal mortality and high-risk pregnancies, regardless of a mom’s zip code. I’ve strongly supported the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, and last Congress, we passed legislation to help stillbirth prevention efforts. Now, I’ll keep working with my colleagues to help more expectant families,” Grassley said.

Hassan highlighted concerns about increasing deaths during pregnancy and childbirth: “It is an outrage that in one of the richest countries on earth, women are dying during pregnancy and childbirth at increasingly alarming rates, particularly women of color. We can and must make pregnancy safer and protect women from preventable deaths. Our bipartisan bill takes important and long overdue steps to help improve care for pregnant women and their infants, and I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation that will help save lives and keep families whole,” Hassan said.

The Healthy Moms and Babies Act aims to coordinate “whole-person” care by focusing on outcome-driven community prevention strategies, expanding activities related to stillbirth prevention, modernizing care through telehealth services—especially for rural populations—and addressing social determinants of health for pregnant and postpartum women.

Grassley has previously supported measures such as the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV), which provides home visits by healthcare professionals to support at-risk mothers from pregnancy through early childhood development. He also backed legislation allowing Title V funds under the Social Security Act to be used for stillbirth prevention programs—a measure that became law last Congress—and co-sponsored a resolution recognizing National Stillbirth Prevention Day.

Earlier this year, Grassley joined other lawmakers in introducing the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act designed to offer additional support during prenatal, postpartum, and early childhood stages.

Further details about the Healthy Moms and Babies Act—including summaries of its provisions—are available online.