Bipartisan congressional bill aims to give jolt to stillbirth research

A new bipartisan effort is underway to develop and streamline research into stillborn incidence. 

The Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education for Autumn Act, or SHINE, undergirds the first federal-state partnership to improve data collection in an effort to reduce stillbirth rates.

It would authorize the United States Department of Health and Human Services to issue grants to states to support data collection efforts and produce educational materials.

“We have to have the data, and also the data has to be correct,” said Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02), who co-sponsored the bill with Democrats Young Kim (CA-40) and Kathy Castor (FL-14), and Republican Dave Joyce (OH-14).

The bill would also require the Department to develop a fellowship program for perinatal autopsy pathology training, used to determine the cause of deaths in infants. The SHINE Act passed the House of Representatives in March and is under consideration in the Senate.

Stillbirth refers to the loss of an infant before birth at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 21,000 babies are stillborn each year. Stillbirth incidence is more pronounced amongst Black and Brown mothers, CDC data show.

There’s limited research on driving factors behind the disparities. However, research shows that affordable healthcare access, wages, and housing can fuel inequities—issues exacerbated by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors like socioeconomic disparities, unequal healthcare access, systemic racism, and higher rates of chronic health conditions drive the increased risk of stillbirth among Black and Latina mothers, but for some, “COVID just educated more people on disparities,” Kelly said.

A report from the Illinois Department of Public Health found prenatal visits declined during the COVID-19 shutdowns. “Nationally, women received fewer prenatal care visits in 2020 than pre-pandemic, but prenatal care visits began to increase again during 2021,” the report reads. 

Reductions in postpartum visits were particularly pronounced for Black, younger, and insured women, the report adds.

“Nearly one out of every four stillbirths is preventable, and Black women are more than twice as likely to experience stillbirth as White women,” Castor wrote in a news release. “We need to act to dramatically improve outcomes for mothers and babies and address long-standing disparities among racial and ethnic groups.”

The SHINE Act aims to create reporting consistency amongst states, but some are further along than others. And in rural communities, specifically, broadband access remains limited. 

Kelly is pushing for increased support for rural healthcare, as well as prenatal and postpartum care, including mobile vans, and increased telehealth services, and pushing the postpartum healthcare coverage period from 60 days to one year, she said.

Locally, Harvey’s UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Hospital remains one of a few birthing sites in the south suburbs offering services to lower pregnancy-related complications.

Its free Healthy Baby Network connects mothers with maternal health resources, including physicians, transportation, and insurance.

In 2023, Ingalls provided prenatal care to 109 women, resulting in 88 full-term deliveries. The HBN supported 96 percent of these deliveries, according to the hospital’s website.