[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13587]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     MOMS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, each year over 4 million women give 
birth in the United States. Their care and that of their babies is a 
leading cause of hospitalization in this country and a major factor in 
our Nation's escalating health care costs. Yet, in spite of the fact we 
spend more than any country in the world on maternity care and more on 
mother and baby fees for childbirth than other types of hospital care, 
the United States ranks far behind nearly all developed countries in 
perinatal outcomes, and childbirth continues to present significant 
risks for mothers and babies, particularly in communities of color.
  There are many factors that contribute to these poor outcomes and 
high costs. The most disturbing is that our current health system fails 
to follow the vast body of research on the best evidence-based 
practices in maternity care. The result is a widespread overuse of 
expensive maternity practices, such as Cesarean sections and scheduled 
inductions, which only in limited situations are needed and beneficial. 
When used routinely and without medical necessity, these and other 
practices expose women and infants to unnecessary risk and are a major 
factor in pregnancy and delivery being our most costly Medicaid 
expenditure.
  Credible research tells us noninvasive, cost-effective, evidence-
based maternity practices which result in safer and healthier outcomes 
for mother and baby are significantly underused in our country.
  To address these concerns, I am introducing the Maximizing Optimal 
Maternity Services for the 21st Century Act. The MOMS for the 21st 
Century Act expands Federal research on maternity practices and ensures 
the healthiest of maternity outcomes, and it authorizes a 
scientifically based media campaign to educate the public about those 
practices. In addition, the bill creates a national focus on maternity 
care by establishing an interagency coordinating committee to promote 
optimal outcomes for mothers and babies.
  To help address serious health disparities in maternity care outcome, 
the MOMS for the 21st Century Act directs the collection of data to 
determine the areas in our country which lack adequate access to 
maternity care providers. It also directs the Secretary of HHS to 
support the education of a more culturally and geographically diverse 
interdisciplinary workforce by convening a maternity curriculum 
commission to develop core curricula across maternity professional 
disciplines, establishing loan repayment programs for providers in 
maternity care shortage areas and by authorizing grant programs for 
maternity professional organizations to recruit and retain minority 
providers.
  Mr. Speaker, as Lee Jong-wook, former Deputy General of the World 
Health Organization once said, ``Mothers, the newborn, and children 
represent the well-being of a society and its potential for the future. 
Their health needs cannot be left unmet without harming the whole of 
society.''
  Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt the future of our country depends on 
the health and well-being of our mothers and their children. I urge my 
colleagues to make evidence-based maternity care a national priority by 
cosponsoring and helping to pass the MOMS for the 21st Century Act.

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