Update: On October 7, 2019 California Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed SB 464 into law!
On June 25th, members of PTBi joined Black Women for Wellness and other advocates in Sacramento to testify for SB 464 - California Dignity in Pregnancy and Childbirth Act, authored by Senator Mitchell and Assembly Member Weber.
Originally introduced by LA-based program, Black Women for Wellness, the bill aims to address the deep disparities in pregnancy-related black deaths and severe injury, by implementing implicit bias training and improved data collection.
More specifically, according to Senator Mitchell's office, "The legislation requires:
- All perinatal healthcare providers and staff (Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistant, Registered Nurses, Medical Assistant and other administration) to go through a comprehensive implicit bias training and evaluation.
- The Department of Public Health to collect maternal mortality and morbidity data and publish that data at least every three years.
- Updates death certificates to better capture pregnancy-related deaths
- Informs patients about how to file discrimination complaints."
Through the dedicated efforts of the powerful advocates who testified, we are excited to share that the bill, we are excited to share that the bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsome in 2019.
Learn More About the Bill
Senator Mitchell's official statement on SB 464
Watch our June 2021 Collaboratory, Preventing Evictions and Implicit Bias Training: Policy Action to Improve Black Maternal Health in California
