Gavin Newsom signs law to help new California moms, prevent infant deaths

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a law aimed at improving maternal and postpartum care for Black California families who have disproportionately suffered pregnancy-related and infant deaths in recent years.

Senate Bill 65, dubbed the “Momnibus Act” and authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, aims to close those racial disparities in maternal and infant deaths.

The law would establish a committee to investigate pregnancy-related deaths and severe maternal morbidity and expands data collection and research into the social factors that cause negative birth outcomes. The bill also increases access to postpartum health care, doula services and midwives for families.

The bill also charges the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development to provide training for nurse-midwives on working with multicultural communities.

Between 2014-2016, Black women in California were four to six times more likely to experience pregnancy-related mortality compared to women who were white, Hispanic or Asian/Pacific Islander, according to a report from the California Department of Health released last month.

“We need to accept that there is a glaring racial disparity and ‘Momnibus’ addresses that,” Skinner said.

The mortality ratio for Black women was 56.2 deaths per 100,000 live births. For white women the mortality ratio was 9.4 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the health department.

“California’s rate of pregnancy-related deaths has remained low compared with the U.S. rate and has been largely stable from 2008 to 2016,” according to the report. “However, racial/ethnic disparities in pregnancy-related mortality ratios appear to be worsening, particularly among Black women when compared to women of other racial/ethnic groups. Black women were overrepresented among pregnancy-related deaths from all causes, especially deaths that occurred in pregnancy prior to birth or after delivery hospitalization.”

“We’ve struggled in this space. We haven’t delivered. These gaps have been persistent,” Newsom said at a press conference. “SB 65 is ‘the how’ to really hold ourselves to a higher level of accountability.”

Nourbese Flint, executive director at Black Women for Wellness Action Project, celebrated the bill’s signing.

“At the core of this bill signing here today, it tackles for hundreds of thousands of people, both the freedom to have a child and the ability to raise your family,” Flint said.

Groups like the California Latinas for Reproductive Justice and California Nurse Midwife Association also supported the bill.

The California Department of Finance opposed the bill, citing “significant (General Fund) impacts not included in the Administration’s spending plan,” according to the bill’s analysis. Implementing the law would cost about $6.7 million.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom called Skinner’s bill “overdue.”

“The birth of a child should be a joyous occasion,” she said. “But for far too many women as we know, especially Black women and women of color, the birthing experience can be just the opposite. It can be riddled with anxiety, frustration, or worse, it can end in tragedy.”

“These deaths and racial gaps in mortality rates didn’t happen in a vacuum, they are the legacy ... of systemic racism and inequality.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2021 at 11:59 AM.