[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1444 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1444

   Acknowledging and thanking America's birth centers for their high 
quality and high value model of health care, and expressing support for 
   the recognition of the week of September 14 through 20, 2024, as 
                    ``National Birth Center Week''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 12, 2024

    Mrs. Kim of California (for herself and Ms. Kelly of Illinois) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                         on Energy and Commerce

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                               RESOLUTION


 
   Acknowledging and thanking America's birth centers for their high 
quality and high value model of health care, and expressing support for 
   the recognition of the week of September 14 through 20, 2024, as 
                    ``National Birth Center Week''.

Whereas a birth center is a freestanding health care facility where safe, 
        midwifery-led care supports the processes of birth, newborn, and parent 
        transition, as well as communitywide wellness;
Whereas birth centers are a key part of the health care system and are guided by 
        the principles of safety, prevention, patient and family centered care, 
        sensitivity, appropriate medical intervention, shared decisionmaking, 
        and cost effectiveness;
Whereas over 400 birth centers across the United States provide patient and 
        family centered health care that includes a broad range of services such 
        as wellness exams, prenatal care, childbirth and postpartum care, 
        newborn exams, STI screenings and treatments, contraceptive care, and 
        family building services;
Whereas birth centers are based on the midwifery model of care which combines 
        millennia of childbearing knowledge with modern technology and skills;
Whereas 60 percent of mothers giving birth in the United States meet risk 
        criteria for birth center care;
Whereas the safety and efficacy of midwifery-led community birth centers have 
        been repeatedly documented over four decades, and two large-scale 
        national birth centers' studies published in 1989 and 2013 documented 
        safe and cost-effective care in birth centers;
Whereas, in 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-funded, five-
        year Strong Start Initiative demonstrated that birth center care 
        significantly reduces preterm and low-birthweight births and cesarean 
        section rates, and increases breastfeeding rates and duration for 
        Medicaid beneficiaries, leading to better health and high value for 
        childbearing women and infants;
Whereas a 2020 study demonstrated that rural families cared for in birth 
        centers, including those who transferred to higher levels of care, had 
        lower incidences of episiotomy, cesarean birth, and induction, and had 
        higher rates of exclusive breastfeeding, higher average birthweight in 
        pounds and higher Apgar scores at five minutes;
Whereas the number of families seeking community birth continues to grow, and 
        according to National Vital Statistics Reports, between 2019 and 2022, 
        there was a 33.2-percent increase in families opting to give birth in 
        community settings, including a 51.5-percent increase for Black 
        families, a 57-percent increase for Native American families, a 51.5-
        percent increase for Hispanic families, and a 28-percent increase for 
        White and Asian families;
Whereas a 2022 research study found that community birth centers, especially 
        those providing culturally centered care, enhance the experience of 
        perinatal care for patients and families in rural, minority, and 
        underserved communities;
Whereas birth centers based on the midwifery model of care are indisputable 
        solutions to the ongoing crisis in the United States perinatal care 
        system, a system which ranks poorly in comparison to other high-resource 
        countries and suffers from multiple disparities in rural, minority, and 
        underserved communities;
Whereas every person deserves access to a birth center, and the public deserves 
        to understand the demonstrated effectiveness of freestanding birth 
        center care that is led by midwives and governed by the midwifery model 
        of care; and
Whereas, in order to support these efforts, the week of September 14 through 20, 
        2024, would be appropriate to celebrate midwifery-led community birth, 
        to create opportunities to grow birth centers and their safe and 
        effective model of care, and to imagine a world where birth is safe, 
        sacred, loving, and celebrated in every community: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) acknowledges the safe, high value, family centered care 
        being provided in America's birth centers;
            (2) recognizes National Birth Center Week and encourages 
        families, communities, health care and public health 
        professionals, hospitals and health care institutions, health 
        care insurers, policymakers and regulatory agencies at all 
        levels of government, and philanthropic leaders to take this 
        time to learn more about the safety and effectiveness of birth 
        centers and the midwifery model of care; and
            (3) thanks America's birth centers and supports increased 
        use of the birth center model to expand access to high-quality 
        care and improve perinatal outcomes for families across the 
        United States.
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