Hinson says focus is on maternal health care for National Rural Health Day

WASHINGTON — It’s National Rural Health Day and north-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says her focus is on continued efforts to expand rural maternal health care.

Hinson says while we continue to lead the world in medical innovation, there’s still too high of a maternal mortality and stillbirth rate in the United States.  “I think that’s inexcusable. Over 21,000 babies are stillborn every single year in our country, and I think the data shows that nearly one in four of those are preventable tragedies, and it is a tragedy. The unexpected death of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy — I’ve talked to so many mothers and families who are just devastated by this. Many of the women who endure stillbirth have already gone through the process of picking out a baby’s name, they’ve decorated the nursery, they’re planning for this child to join their family.”

Hinson says she is pleased to have helped get legislation through to address maternal health care. “The president did sign my bill, the Maternal and Child Stillbirth Prevention Act, into law earlier this year, which we know finally allows federal resources to be used for stillbirth prevention activities. I do think this is going to save the lives of moms and babies. I’ve heard from so many women in my district in rural Iowa who have to drive a long way to be able to see a specialist OB or to visit the nearest maternal ward or hospital. I want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to give women the care they need during their pregnancy no matter what their zip code is.”

Hinson says she looks forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan fashion to support rural women and expand maternal health care access for Iowans.