Bill Text: NY J00296 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim January 23, 2023, as Maternal Health Awareness Day in the State of New York

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 42-21)

Status: (Passed) 2023-01-24 - ADOPTED [J00296 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J00296-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 296

BY: Senator BROUK

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        January 23, 2023, as Maternal Health  Awareness  Day
        in the State of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is  the  custom  of this Legislative Body to recognize
official days that are set aside to increase awareness  of  issues  that
affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, it is the sense of this  Legislative  Body  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  January 23, 2023, as
Maternal Health Awareness Day in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS, This Maternal Health Awareness Day comes as New York  faces
troubling  maternal  health  rates  and  alarming  racial disparities in
maternal health outcomes; Black women  are  three  to  four  times  more
likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts; and

  WHEREAS,  According  to  a report by the New York State Taskforce on
Maternal Mortality  and  Disparate  Racial  Outcomes,  66%  of  prenatal
related deaths during a two year period involved a cesarean section, and
65%  of  pregnancy-related  deaths  during the same time period occurred
within a week of the end of pregnancy; and

  WHEREAS, Maternal mental  health  conditions  are  the  most  common
complication  during  pregnancy,  with substance abuse and suicide being
among the top  pregnancy-associated  causes  of  death  among  New  York
State's new moms; and

  WHEREAS,  Studies  show  that  doulas-who  are trained, non-clinical
professionals who provide physical, emotional and informational  support
to a pregnant person before, during and after childbirth-have been shown
to  improve  outcomes  for  the entire family, their care remains out of
reach for many families; and

  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is committed  to  improving  maternal
health  outcomes  for  families across the state; pregnancy should be an
exciting time for a family, not a daunting, life-threatening  condition;
and

  WHEREAS, The objective of Maternal Health Awareness Day in the State
of  New  York  is  to  raise  awareness of maternal health issues in our
communities and to mobilize efforts in support of  gestational  parents;
the day provides an opportunity for professionals and families to engage
in  discussions  about  what  needs  to  be  done  to  improve  maternal
healthcare; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  January 23, 2023, as
Maternal Health Awareness Day in the  State  of  New  York;  and  be  it
further

  RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of  New
York.