Massachusetts State House Passes Bill Expanding Out-of-Hospital Birth Options and Maternal Health CareMassachusetts State House Passes Bill Expanding Out-of-Hospital Birth Options and Maternal Health Care Paragraph 1: The Massachusetts State House has passed House Bill 4773, aiming to improve access to out-of-hospital birth options and maternal health care. The bill establishes a licensing process for professional obstetricians and lactation consultants, screenings for postpartum depression, and infant mortality assessments. Paragraph 2: The bill expands the Council of Allied Health Professionals and includes recommendations to address disparities in maternal mortality. It adds Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the list of newborn screening diseases and modifies the definition of low-risk pregnancy. Paragraph 3: Additionally, the bill requires employers to provide earned sick time for pregnancy loss or assisted reproduction failure. It passed unanimously in the state House and will proceed to the Senate for further consideration. Additional Elements: – The article includes an image of the Massachusetts State House with a caption. – It incorporates scripts for social media sharing buttons.
Massachusetts State House.
BOSTON – The Massachusetts State House recently passed a maternal health care bill that will expand access to out-of-hospital birth options.
House Bill 4773, or A law that promotes access to obstetric care and birth options outside the hospital, would establish a formal licensing process for certifying professional obstetricians and lactation consultants, provide screenings for postpartum depression and establish programs to conduct fetal and infant mortality assessments.
Under the legislation, the state would expand the Council of Allied Health Professionals from 11 to 15 members, with the governor appointing 3 licensed lactation consultants and 1 additional licensed physician to the council.
The bill includes recommendations from the Special Committee on Racial Disparities in Maternal Health to reduce or eliminate disparities in maternal mortality, which have increased in recent years.
Additional measures in the bill include adding Duchenne muscular dystrophy to the list of diseases for which newborn children would be screened, and changing the definition of low-risk pregnancy to specify that there is no maternal or fetal factors that put the pregnancy at risk of complications. , and to require employers to provide employees or their spouses with earned sick time in the event of pregnancy loss or assisted reproduction failure.
The bill passed unanimously in the state House and will now go to the Senate for further consideration.
