This legislation seeks to significantly enhance the understanding and prevention of stillbirths through improved research and data collection. It authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to states, enabling them to conduct comprehensive surveillance, collect detailed data on stillbirths, and identify associated risk factors. A key provision involves building state and local public health capacity to analyze this crucial stillbirth data, ensuring all collected information is deidentified and complies with privacy laws. The bill also mandates the development of standardized guidelines for state departments of health and vital statistics units on collecting stillbirth data from healthcare providers, including clinical history and postmortem findings. Furthermore, the Secretary is directed to create and disseminate publicly available educational awareness materials about stillbirths. These efforts will be supported by authorized appropriations of $5,000,000 annually for state grants and $1,000,000 annually for guidelines and educational materials, both for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Finally, the Act requires a public report within five years, compiling educational guidelines and stillbirth risk factors.
This legislation seeks to significantly enhance the understanding and prevention of stillbirths through improved research and data collection. It authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to states, enabling them to conduct comprehensive surveillance, collect detailed data on stillbirths, and identify associated risk factors. A key provision involves building state and local public health capacity to analyze this crucial stillbirth data, ensuring all collected information is deidentified and complies with privacy laws. The bill also mandates the development of standardized guidelines for state departments of health and vital statistics units on collecting stillbirth data from healthcare providers, including clinical history and postmortem findings. Furthermore, the Secretary is directed to create and disseminate publicly available educational awareness materials about stillbirths. These efforts will be supported by authorized appropriations of $5,000,000 annually for state grants and $1,000,000 annually for guidelines and educational materials, both for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Finally, the Act requires a public report within five years, compiling educational guidelines and stillbirth risk factors.