Sponsors (5)
The bill increases federal attention, data collection, guidance, and modest grant funding to identify and address perinatal violence and broaden what counts as maternal mortality—likely improving detection, care, and equity for many mothers but requiring additional spending, administrative work, and careful safeguards to ensure equitable, safe implementation.
Pregnant and postpartum people (and survivors of perinatal violence) will be more likely to be identified and receive improved, trauma-informed screening, referrals, and treatment because the bill mandates standardized guidance, tailored programs, and clinical practice improvements.
Community providers, tribal epidemiology centers, and health systems can access federal grant funding ($15M/year FY2027–FY2029) to pilot and expand programs addressing perinatal violence, co-occurring mental health, and substance use disorders.
Federal study, clearer definitions of maternal mortality (including suicides, overdoses, homicides), and recurring HHS reporting will generate better data and evidence to guide prevention, policy, and program design for pregnancy-associated deaths.
Taxpayers and governments will face additional costs: commissioning studies, expanding program eligibility (with broader mortality definitions), and funding grants (though $15M/year may be small compared with nationwide need).
States, providers, and managed care entities will incur administrative and training burdens to adopt new screening, reporting, and care protocols, potentially straining already-limited capacity.
Grant awards may be uneven and short‑lived: organizations lacking grant-writing capacity or matching resources (including rural or under-resourced communities) risk exclusion, and pilot grants may not sustain services after funding ends.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Directs HHS to study violence-related drivers of maternal morbidity/mortality, issues guidance on screening and trauma-informed care, and funds grants for culturally tailored prevention and treatment.
Official title: To study the extent to which individuals are more at risk of maternal morbidity or mortality as a result of being a victim of intimate partner violence.
Introduced April 27, 2026 by Gwendolynne S. Moore · Last progress April 27, 2026
Creates a federal effort to study and address how interpersonal violence, trafficking, child sexual abuse, forced marriage, reproductive coercion, intergenerational violence, trauma, and psychiatric disorders raise risks for maternal morbidity and mortality. It directs HHS to commission a study, issue guidance to health systems and states, and run a grant program to develop culturally appropriate prevention, screening, treatment, and partnership models to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum people, with special attention to diverse and Tribal communities. Provides $15 million per year (FY2027–FY2029) in authorized grant funding, requires HHS to publish guidance within two years, mandates regular reporting to Congress on best practices, and defines key terms including maternal morbidity, maternal mortality (explicitly including suicide, overdose, and homicide), and postpartum (12 months).