Underwood Continues Her Work to Improve Maternal Health Outcomes
Advocates for her legislation, the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, to help working moms reenter the workforce after giving birth
WASHINGTON— Today, in a House Committee on Education and Labor joint subcommittee hearing, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14), co-founder and co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, advanced her work to address the alarming rates of maternal mortality in the United States. In the hearing, Underwood questioned health experts on why American mothers, despite their education level or socioeconomic status, face such elevated risks of maternal mortality and severe morbidity compared to women in other wealthy countries. Underwood also highlighted how the Republican health care repeal lawsuit puts insurance coverage in jeopardy for millions of Americans and risks further exacerbating disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes.
In writing, Underwood also highlighted her legislation, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 5592), a bill to fix a legal glitch that denies basic protections to millions of working moms who need to express breast milk while at their workplace.
"When it comes to America's maternal and infant health crisis, we need to pay more attention, take more action, and make women's health a national priority," said Underwood. "In Congress, I'm proud to have convened over 100 of my colleagues to be a part of a solution to this crisis that is felt most acutely in African American communities, even among highly educated Black women. I'm also proud to be a leader on the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act that will help assist millions of middle-class moms to reenter the workforce after giving birth."
Full video of Underwood's remarks can be found here.
The United States has the worst maternal death rates in the developed world, with 26.4 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,00 live births, according to a 2019 report from the National Institutes of Health. While maternal mortality rates fell 44 percent around the world from 1990-2015, the American maternal mortality rate rose by 16.7 percent. Black women suffer at disproportionate rates, with pregnancy-related mortality ratios that are three to four times higher than white women in America. Regardless of education or income, these disparities have not improved for more than 30 years.
In Congress, Underwood has worked to address the maternal mortality crisis with evidence-based solutions and as a co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Representative Alma Adams. The bipartisan Black Maternal Health Caucus, now 100 members strong, is organized around the goals of elevating the Black maternal health crisis within Congress and advancing policy solutions to improve maternal health outcomes and end disparities. In June, Underwood introduced the Community Access to Resources and Education (CARE) for Families Act (H.R. 3117) to address maternal and infant mortality and morbidity by making key investments in access to quality nutrition and health care services throughout pregnancy and after giving birth. In October, Underwood introduced the bipartisan Healthy Start Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4801) to improve birth outcomes in communities with high rates of infant mortality and other complications by reauthorizing funding for the Healthy Start Program for five years. In November, Underwood championed the bipartisan Helping Medicaid Offer Maternity Services (MOMS) Act (H.R. 4996) to incentivize state-level Medicaid extension to the entire postpartum period and invest in maternal-specific public health. This legislation passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is awaiting consideration on the House floor.
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