By Shalini Wickramatilake, MHS

Last week, the Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act (H.R.5487) was introduced by Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill aims to prevent stillbirth through better research and reporting on the topic. Specifically, the bill would:

Provide grants to states for data collection on stillbirths;
Develop guidelines for state departments of health and vital statistics units on stillbirth data collection and data sharing;
Support states in the development of educational materials on stillbirth;
Establish a fellowship program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) focused on stillbirth research; and
Require the Office of the Surgeon General to publish a report with educational guidelines on stillbirth and stillbirth risk factors.

2020 Mom recognizes that stillbirth is associated with maternal mental health disorders. Stillbirth can result in high rates of anxiety, depression, distress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complicated grief for moms (Campbell-Jackson & Horsch, 2014). Moms who have a stillbirth are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with depression, and 7 times more likely to have PTSD than women who had a live birth (Gold et al, 2015). Additionally, those who experienced a previous stillbirth and who are pregnant again are more likely to experience anxiety and depression during the third trimester of pregnancy compared to women with a previous live birth (Graventeen et al, 2018). It is crucial that moms who experience a stillbirth receive comprehensive mental health support services.

Notably, last week Representatives Schneider (D-IL), Gonzalez (R-OH), Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Herrera Beutler (R-WA), and Hill (R-AR) introduced a resolution supporting the designation of October 15, 2021, as “National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day'' and recognizing the people who have lost a pregnancy or an infant. The resolution acknowledges that loss of an infant or a pregnancy can negatively affect a person’s mental health.

2020 Mom applauds Representatives Herrera Beutler, Roybal-Allard, Castor, and Mullin for introducing the SHINE for Autumn Act, and we support swift passage of this bill. Additionally, 2020 Mom is hopeful that lawmakers will expeditiously pass maternal mental health legislation, such as the TRIUMPH for New Moms Act (H.R. 4217/S. 2779), to complement the important provisions included in the SHINE for Autumn Act.

To learn more about supporting families experiencing still birth visit our birth loss resource page.