Bill Text: CA ACR2 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Maternal Health Awareness Day.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 50-15)
Status: (Passed) 2023-02-14 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 3, Statutes of 2023. [ACR2 Detail]
Download: California-2023-ACR2-Chaptered.html
Assembly Concurrent Resolution
No. 2
CHAPTER 3
Relative to Maternal Health Awareness Day.
[
Filed with
Secretary of State
February 14, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
ACR 2, Weber.
Maternal Health Awareness Day.
This measure would proclaim January 23, 2023, as Maternal Health Awareness Day.
Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NOBill Text
WHEREAS, The United States ranks highest among industrialized nations in maternal mortality; and
WHEREAS, More than 700 women die each year in the United States as a result of pregnancy or delivery complications, and more than one-half of these deaths are preventable; and
WHEREAS, While the national maternal mortality rate continues to rise, California continues to work diligently and successfully to reverse this alarming trend; and
WHEREAS, The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC), a multistakeholder organization committed to ending preventable morbidity, mortality, and racial disparities in California maternity care, was founded in 2006 at Stanford University School of Medicine, in coordination with the California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (CA-PAMR) and the Public Health Institute, in response to rising maternal mortality and morbidity rates; and
WHEREAS, CMQCC uses research, quality improvement toolkits, statewide outreach collaboratives, and its innovative Maternal Data Center to improve health outcomes for mothers and infants; and
WHEREAS, Since the inception of CMQCC and CA-PAMR, California has recorded a maternal mortality decline by 55 percent from 2006 to 2013, inclusive, and has successfully decreased the maternal mortality rate to 7 deaths per 100,000 live births; and
WHEREAS, California’s annual pregnancy-related mortality ratios remained low and largely stable from 2008 to 2016, inclusive, fluctuating between 9.5 and 14.9 deaths per 100,000 live births; and
WHEREAS, CA-PAMR reported that California suicide ratios remained relatively stable from 2008 to 2016, inclusive, regardless of pregnancy status, and women who were pregnant in the year prior to death were significantly less likely to die by suicide than reproductive-age women who were not pregnant within the prior year; and
WHEREAS, A woman’s maternal mental health condition can also be a factor in maternal mortality. Recent efforts have been made to bring greater awareness to maternal mental health and to ensure more women are screened and treated for postpartum depression or psychosis and remain covered by health insurance upon diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, Improved screening alone can reduce the severity of postpartum depression. Obstetric providers are implementing more aggressive screening techniques and making strides to further recognize and, therefore, treat maternal mental health conditions; and
WHEREAS, While California has set an example for the rest of the country and has made progress to reduce maternal mortality through investment in maternal health programs, strong leadership and engagement of the maternity care community, and targeted hospital quality improvement, more needs to be done to narrow racial and ethnic disparities, especially with Black women whose pregnancy-related mortality ratio was four to six times greater than the mortality ratios for women of other racial or ethnic groups, including White, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander; and
WHEREAS, The State Department of Public Health must continue its surveillance to bring heightened awareness to maternal health; and
WHEREAS, California must maintain its efforts to maximize health prior to pregnancy, including, but not limited to, preventing smoking, improving fitness, reducing sexually transmitted diseases, and promoting positive relationships; and
WHEREAS, California must continue to address the postpartum needs of women through such efforts as postpartum visits and interconception care, breastfeeding support, and screening for postpartum depression; and
WHEREAS, California should continue to promote positive birth outcomes for all women through such actions as maternity care quality improvement and home visiting for vulnerable, pregnant women, to provide additional support for Black women, and to further increase culturally and linguistically relevant public awareness about maternal mental health risk factors, signs, symptoms, treatment, and recovery; and
WHEREAS, California should maintain its efforts to improve the coordination of care between obstetrics and psychiatry regarding mental health treatment, as needed, and to continue advancements for improved screening for mental health conditions during and after pregnancy, as well as screening for substance use, adverse childhood experiences, medical diagnoses, including infectious disease, and intimate partner violence; and
WHEREAS, The Legislature seeks to bring awareness to maternal health and continue its work to provide positive outcomes for both the mother and the infant; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Assembly proclaims January 23, 2023, as Maternal Health Awareness Day to draw attention to the efforts that have improved maternal health in California and to highlight the need for continued improvement of maternal health for all women; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
