ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Wednesday, March 27th, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard Senate File 1303, a bill authored by Senator Susan Pha (DFL-Brooklyn Park). The bill implements a fetal movement tracking pilot program in an effort to prevent stillbirth in Minnesota. Fetal movement tracking is a method for expectant parents to understand their baby’s movement, notice when there is a change in movement, and seek medical care and evaluation.
“Losing a baby so close to their due date is incredibly devastating.” said Senator Pha. “Fetal movement tracking is a proven strategy to prevent stillbirth, and we need to ensure every parent understands that monitoring their baby’s movement during the third trimester is important for a healthy birth. This program would especially support BIPOC communities, who disproportionately experience stillbirth. Let’s ensure that Minnesota families bring their healthy babies home.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 out of 175 pregnancies end in stillbirth. That number climbs to 1 out of 133 for Native American pregnancies and 1 out of 101 for Black pregnancies.
Iowa adopted a similar program over a decade ago. One study showed that from 2008-2018, Iowa saw a 32% reduction in stillbirths while the rest of the nation stayed relatively stagnant.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill. You can watch the entire presentation here.
Learn more about Sen. Pha.
