AB 2739

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, commencing August 1, 2022, establishes the California Pregnancy-Associated Review Committee (committee) under the State Department of Public Health (department) to continuously engage in the comprehensive, regular, and uniform review and reporting of maternal deaths throughout the state. Existing law requires the committee to publish its findings every 3 years, as a part of a specified department publication relating to severe maternal morbidity. Existing law declares that the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) process is used to identify and take action to prevent a wide range of local social, economic, public health, education, environmental, and safety factors that contribute to the tragedy of fetal and infant loss. Existing law requires each county to annually report infant deaths to its respective local health department. Existing law requires local health departments, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish a FIMR committee to investigate infant deaths to prevent fetal and infant death, as specified, and requires the local health departments that participate in the FIMR process to annually investigate, track, and review cases of term infants, as defined, who were born following labor with the outcome of intrapartum stillbirth, early neonatal death, or postneonatal death. This bill would additionally require the committee to collect and include in its published findings data from counties participating in the FIMR process. The bill would specify that intrapartum stillbirth for purposes of the FIMR process means stillbirth at 20 weeks or more of gestation. The bill would require the department to establish a process to accept information from members of the public who have experienced stillbirth and who wish to provide their information relating to the cause of the stillbirth, demographic information about the mother, and any other maternal factors specified under the FIMR. The bill would require the department to make various resources available for individuals who have experienced stillbirth, and would authorize the department to contract with one or more nonprofit entities that provide services relating to stillbirth to perform the department's duties, if the department determines that it would be more cost-effective to do so.