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Inspired By A Modest North Carolina Program, New Bills Aim To Lower Maternal Mortality Rates In The U.S. | HuffPost <br />https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/maternal-mortality-rate-social-causes_us_5b87276ae4b0511db3d47c1c?4is[8/30/2018 1:42:41 PM] <br />MICHAEL KOVAC VIA GETTY IMAGES <br />Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have proposed complementary bills to improve maternal health and <br />pregnancy outcomes. <br />Efforts to drive down the rates of maternal mortality in the U.S. tend to focus on how doctors <br />and hospitals can change the way they administer medical care. Yet research shows that <br />things like loving relationships, safe homes and being part of a fair and equitable community <br />also play an important role in whether a woman has a positive experience with pregnancy and <br />giving birth. <br />So experts were heartened by a pair of complementary bills, announced over the past week, <br />that tackle this problem from both sides. The most recent national proposal, a bill from Sen. <br />Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) announced Tuesday, would give money to states and hospitals <br />who need help standardizing their childbirth and postpartum treatment plans to evidence- <br />based best practices, and would help maternal mortality review committees investigate deaths <br />to figure out how they can be avoided in the future. <br />These kinds of quality improvements dominate the national debate about how to improve