2022 Moms' Agenda
The Moms’ Agenda 2022
Mom Congress supports many pieces of legislation throughout the year.
The following bills are referred to as the “Moms’ Agenda” and have been selected for the Mom Congress Convention Advocacy Day being held on September 20th, 2022.
Midwives for Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services (Midwives for MOMS) Act
This legislation will address maternity care provider shortages in rural and underserved areas throughout the country with the goal of improving maternal and child health outcomes, especially among underrepresented Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian women, and scale up and diversify the midwifery workforce. This bill will establish two new funding streams for accredited midwifery education programs under Health Resource and Services Administration’s Title VII Health Professions Training Program and Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs. Grant funding would be prioritized for midwifery programs whose students commit to practicing in a maternity care provider shortage area upon graduation and certification and/or are from underrepresented groups. Funding could also be awarded to programs to help preceptors who train midwifery students, and funding could also be awarded to colleges and universities, including HBCUs, for the establishment or expansion of midwifery education programs.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
This bill prohibits employment practices that discriminate against making reasonable accommodations for qualified employees affected by a pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
SHINE for Autumn Act
This bill authorizes grants and establishes other programs to improve data collection on stillbirths. Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) may award grants for surveillance and data collection on stillbirths, and HHS must issue guidelines for health departments and vital statistics units concerning the collection of stillbirth data. HHS must also develop educational awareness materials about stillbirths and make them publicly available.
Furthermore, HHS must implement a fellowship program to provide training in perinatal autopsy pathology and otherwise support research on stillbirths and fetal autopsies. The bill also requires HHS to issue a report with educational guidelines on stillbirths and stillbirth risk factors.
Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Wellbeing
This comprehensive mental health bill, incorporated the provisions of two maternal mental health bills, including the TRIUMPH for New Mom’s Act (“TRIUMPH”) and Into the Light for Maternal Mental Health.
TRIUMPH calls for the formation of a temporary Federal interagency Taskforce to coordinate efforts to address maternal mental health, and to create a national strategic plan including recommendations to state governors, House and Senate Committees, and relevant federal agencies to support and improve maternal mental health in the U.S.
The Into the Light Act provides permanent mental health resources to moms across the country, from a 24/7 voice and text hotline to grants to states to support improved screening and treatment programs.