(Radio Iowa) – A bill co-authored by Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson that seeks to prevent stillbirths passed the House on 408-3 vote. Emily Price, the executive director of Healthy Birth Day, joined Hinson to talk about the bill. She says stillbirths are an epidemic. “The annual number of deaths far exceeds the top five leading causes of deaths among children ages zero to 14 years combined that includes unintentional injuries congenital anomalies preterm birth homicide SIDS and heart disease,” Price says. Stillbirth is defined as the loss of a baby at 20 weeks or more during pregnancy. Healthy Birth Day created the Count the Kicks campaign with the help of Iowa woman to track the movement of babies to help prevent still births.

“Five Iowa women who all lost daughters to stillbirth in the early 2000s wanted to keep other families from enjoying the same tragedy they endured, she says. The organizations says the stillbirth rate in dropped by nearly 32 percent in the first ten years of the campaign. Congresswoman Hinson says the bill will free up federal funds for research into causes for stillbirths and prevention programs and will be addressing maternal care deserts in rural parts of Iowa. “We’ve been making an effort to get more midwives certified so they can help provide some of that emergency care before they may have a chance to get to a hospital,” Hinson says.

Rep. Hinson speaking on the House floor (file photo)

The Republican Congresswoman says this is especially critical in Iowa, which ranks last in access to O-B care according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “I’ve heard from women in rural Iowa who must drive over an hour to see their O-B-G-Y-N or visit the nearest maternal ward or hospital. And they struggle to find that quality care that they need during their pregnancy,” she says. The bill now goes to the Senate.