Booker and Pressley Introduce Sweeping Bill to Prevent Pregnancy-Related Deaths

[crazytown]

The Root, May 8, 2019
https://www.theroot.com/cory-booker-and-ayanna-pressley-introduce-sweeping-bill-1834592385

Cory Booker and Ayanna Pressley Introduce Sweeping Bill to Prevent Pregnancy-Related Deaths Among Black Women

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) will unveil on Wednesday legislation aimed at tackling America’s rising maternal mortality rates, particularly among black mothers, among whom death rates related to childbirth and pregnancy are highest.

Introduced days before Mother’s Day, the Maximizing Outcomes for Moms through Medicaid Improvement and Enhancement of Services, or the MOMMIES Act, comprises two bills: Pressley’s legislation, which will be brought through the House, and a companion bill from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), which he reintroduced this week.

“We live in a nation that spends more than any other country on health care, yet we still have the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths of any country in the developed world,” Sen. Booker said in a prepared press release. Not only do more mothers die from pregnancy-related causes in the U.S., the growing numbers defy a global trend that has seen maternal mortality rates fall in much of the world.

Speaking on a joint press call with Rep. Pressley on Tuesday afternoon, Booker said the legislation marked “an important and meaningful first step” at addressing the growing problem.

The bills aim to do this by expanding and extending Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and new mothers; currently, Medicaid covers roughly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. If passed, the legislation would extend coverage for new moms from two months to a full year after childbirth and ensure that all expectant and post-partum mothers have full coverage.

[uawchild]

1. The Growing Color Divide in U.S. Infant Mortality

How one fares in the United States has been characterized by a racial division that begins at birth with disparities in health care. Inadequate health care can have a significant effect on the future social and economic path of newborns.

Despite continued improvements in the health of the African American population, black babies are still nearly 2.5 times more likely than white babies to die before reaching their first birthday. To make matters worse, recent data show rising infant mortality among blacks in some states.

Infant mortality is associated with a variety of factors that include socioeconomic status, mother’s age, nutrition, birth weight, and lack of prenatal care. Recent increases in black infant mortality also coincide with significant cuts in programs designed to assist the poor and an erosion of benefits in jobs held by many poverty-level workers.

https://www.prb.org/colordivideininfantmortality/

Kudos to Booker and Pressley for addressing an issue that effects all woman and hits poor woman and woman of color even harder.

Thanks for posting the OP!

[crazytown]

4. I couldn't fit 'among black women' in the title

All those well mannered southern whites talking about ‘pro like’ ought to be ashamed. They better hope Judgment Day is nothing like scripture.

[crazytown]

2. My grandmother died in childbirth

She bled to death in front of her children. My grandfather blamed himself and went to pieces. My mother grew up as an orphan.

I’m not a religious man, but I’d say Cory and Ayanna are going God's work.

[uawchild]

3. And God bless you too.

I am at a loss for words.

It's a cliche, but thank you for sharing that and putting a familiar face on this issue.

Best Regards.