Authorizes a prenatal and postpartum informational mobile application

• Democratic13

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Lea Webb says this is needed

The World Health Organization (WHO) data from 2000-2020 indicates that maternal mortality rates in the United States are increasing while live birth data has decreased. As health care government leaders work to address the issues with these pregnancy outcomes, there have been several states, including Michigan and Wyoming, that rely on technology to connect with at-risk birthing individuals to provide greater access to education and provider information and monitoring through a custom- ized mobile application made available to Medicaid recipients. There are a multitude of reasons that contribute to these poor maternal health outcomes that include many women, especially in more rural areas with the tack of access to obstetric care who may tack the awareness of heal- thy prenatal and postpartum behaviors. According to a report from the National Vital Statistics Reports, over 32% of all pregnant women on Medicaid do not start care until the second trimester or later and may not be aware of necessary lifestyle changes that should take place prior to conception as they continue to smoke, do not take prenatal vitamins and miss routine obstetric and gynecological visits. Additionally, "babies born to women with low health literacy had a higher frequency of preterm birth before 34 weeks, small for gesta- tional age status, low birth weight, and an Apgar score less than 4," as reported by a researcher out of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. New York's women and families are faced with an ever-growing dearth in maternity care, including the recent action to close a birthing hospital in Troy, New York that serves many low-income individuals. These actions make it more difficult for women to have access to critical obstetric care. The introduction of a New York-based mobile application for Medicaid recipients would be a positive step in aiding birthing individuals in accessing critical prenatal and postpartum information. As three out of five maternal deaths in the U.S. are preventable accord- ing to the CDC, increasing awareness of healthy prenatal and postpartum behaviors will increase the probability that mothers will have healthier pregnancies and positive birth outcomes.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.