The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Missouri House Bill 1950 creates local fetal and infant mortality review committees, restructures the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board, and establishes midwifery training contracts
Last action · May 15, 2026: Referred: Emerging Issues(H)Sponsors: LaKeySha Bosley and 1 other
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 1950 requires counties to report infant deaths to local public health agencies, establishes local fetal and infant mortality review committees under specific conditions, and creates the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Fund. It modifies the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board within the Department of Health and Senior Services and requires state entities to provide requested records within 30 days. Additionally, subject to , it directs the department to contract with certified nurse-midwife and professional midwife training programs and creates the Midwifery Education Fund.
Local public health agencies, hospitals, birthing centers, and state entities must comply with mandatory data-sharing requests regarding maternal and infant deaths within 30 days, while new grant funds and contract opportunities are established for midwifery training programs and infant mortality reviews.
- State maternal mortality review boards operate across the United States to systematically review pregnancy-associated deaths and formulate preventative recommendations. context
- Local health departments in Missouri operate under local boards and state department oversight to administer public health programs and collect vital statistics. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Local public health agencies
Local public health agencies are tasked with receiving county infant death reports, establishing review committees under specific conditions, investigating cases, and requesting medical records.
Hospitals and birthing centers
Hospitals and birthing centers must provide death records, medical records, autopsy reports, and other health information to local public health agencies and the department within thirty days of a written request.
Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board
The board's membership, duties, reporting requirements, and confidentiality protections are formally established and structured within the Department of Health and Senior Services.
Certified nurse-midwife and professional midwife training programs
Training programs are eligible to enter contracts with the department, receive funding through per-student capitation formulas, and utilize awards for tuition assistance or preceptor support.
Key Facts
- Each county must annually report infant deaths to the local public health agency, with data disaggregated by racial and identity groups.
- Local public health agencies shall establish a fetal and infant mortality review committee if jurisdictions have 5 or more infant deaths in a year and an infant death rate higher than the state's rate for two consecutive years.
- Participating local public health agencies must annually investigate, track, and review at least 20 percent of term infant cases involving intrapartum stillbirth, early neonatal death, or postneonatal death.
- Counties, hospitals, birthing centers, and state entities must provide death records, medical records, and autopsy reports to local public health agencies within 30 days of a written request.
Show all 9 facts
- The Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Fund and the Midwifery Education Fund are established in the state treasury, protected from reverting to the general revenue fund at the end of the biennium.
- The Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board within the Department of Health and Senior Services is expanded to include up to 18 multidisciplinary members meeting at least twice per year.
- The review board must submit an annual report on maternal mortality before June 30 to the CDC, department director, governor, and general assembly.
- Subject to appropriation, the Department of Health and Senior Services shall establish a program to contract with certified nurse-midwife and professional midwife training programs focusing on underserved, multicultural, or rural communities.
- Contracted midwifery programs may be paid via a single per-student capitation formula or other methods to cover special project costs, tuition assistance, and preceptor recruitment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers the creation of a local fetal and infant mortality review committee?
Who must submit records to local public health agencies upon request, and within what timeframe?
What is the primary function of the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review Board?
What types of midwifery training programs are eligible for department contracts under this bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- May 15, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred: Emerging Issues(H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseFloorRead Second Time (H)
- Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead First Time (H)
- Dec 1, 2025HouseIntroducedPrefiled (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Institutionalized Multi-Agency Maternal Review
The bill shifts maternal and infant mortality evaluation from voluntary or fragmented reviews to formalized local public health committees backed by statutory record-sharing mandates and dedicated treasury funds.
Connected Entities
Sources
house.mo.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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