Bill > A07169

This bill establishes comprehensive protocols for healthcare facilities in New York to handle stillbirths with compassion and thoroughness. The legislation requires healthcare facilities to develop detailed procedures for managing stillbirths, including assigning a primary physician to communicate with the family, creating a bereavement checklist, providing one-on-one nursing care, and offering emotional support like allowing families to hold and create memory boxes for their stillborn babies. The bill also mandates the establishment of a fetal death evaluation protocol that collects detailed medical and demographic data about stillbirths, including maternal health history, potential causes, and comprehensive medical examinations. Additionally, the bill requires the New York State Department of Health to create and maintain a confidential database of stillbirth data, which will be made publicly available without identifying individual patients, with the goal of researching and potentially preventing future stillbirths. The commissioner of health is required to report findings to the governor and legislature within five years, potentially recommending further legislative actions based on the research. The protocols aim to provide sensitive, comprehensive care for families experiencing the traumatic loss of a stillborn child while simultaneously advancing medical understanding of stillbirth causes.

Health and Social Services

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A7169