Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HR236 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	IV
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. RES. 236
5	5	Expressing support for the goals of a ‘‘NICU Baby’s Bill of Rights’’.
6	6	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
7	7	MARCH21, 2025
8	8	Mrs. H
9	9	OUCHIN(for herself and Mr. MCGARVEY) submitted the following
10	10	resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
11	11	RESOLUTION
12	12	Expressing support for the goals of a ‘‘NICU Baby’s Bill
13	13	of Rights’’.
14	14	Whereas the United States continues to experience high rates
15	15	of infant prematurity, with over 380,000 babies born
16	16	preterm each year and thousands more full-term medi-
17	17	cally complex babies admitted to the neonatal intensive
18	18	care unit (NICU);
19	19	Whereas the preterm birth rate of Black babies is 50 percent
20	20	higher than that of White babies in the United States;
21	21	Whereas preterm birth is the leading cause of death among
22	22	children under the age of 1 year;
23	23	Whereas a baby born preterm or full-term with medical com-
24	24	plications is a significant driver of comorbidities, includ-
25	25	ing necrotizing enterocolitis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia,
26	26	cerebral palsy, brain injury, and retinopathy of pre-
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29	29	•HRES 236 IH
30	30	maturity, often resulting in lifelong complications or
31	31	death;
32	32	Whereas babies born prematurely or with severe medical com-
33	33	plications are most often cared for in neonatal intensive
34	34	care units (referred to in this resolution as ‘‘NICUs’’);
35	35	Whereas having a baby born preterm or full-term with med-
36	36	ical complexities is a traumatic experience, and NICU
37	37	families are often overwhelmed by their circumstances,
38	38	leaving them at high risk for a variety of mental health
39	39	concerns, including perinatal mood and anxiety disorders;
40	40	Whereas NICU parents are often separated from their criti-
41	41	cally ill babies, bonding is interrupted, and this may have
42	42	significant negative impacts on the cognitive development
43	43	of the baby and the emotional and mental well-being of
44	44	the parents;
45	45	Whereas critically ill babies and their parents and family
46	46	caregivers benefit from skin-to-skin contact in terms of
47	47	increased breastfeeding rates, higher rates of emotional
48	48	attachment, enhanced neurodevelopmental outcomes, and
49	49	promotes confidence in caregiving;
50	50	Whereas, when NICU families are supported, outcomes im-
51	51	prove for babies and their families;
52	52	Whereas all families deserve family-centered care that is de-
53	53	velopmentally appropriate and supportive;
54	54	Whereas all NICU families deserve access to the individual-
55	55	ized support, education, and resources they need to thrive
56	56	during and after their NICU stay;
57	57	Whereas NICU families are often not fully informed or con-
58	58	sulted on questions of substance regarding their child’s
59	59	care, including treatment plans, the true health status of
60	60	their baby, and infant nutrition;
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63	63	•HRES 236 IH
64	64	Whereas, although studies have shown that human milk-
65	65	based nutrition is preferable, many families report being
66	66	unaware of the nutrition options available to their babies
67	67	including donor human milk and human milk-based nu-
68	68	trition; and
69	69	Whereas all NICU families have the right to informed con-
70	70	sent regarding all aspects of their child’s care: Now,
71	71	therefore, be it
72	72	Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
73	73	(1) expresses support for the goals of a ‘‘NICU 2
74	74	Baby’s Bill of Rights’’ supporting the needs of neo-3
75	75	natal intensive care unit families and their babies; 4
76	76	(2) calls on health providers and other stake-5
77	77	holders to promote a family-centered approach to 6
78	78	neonatal intensive care unit care, including the 7
79	79	needs of babies as well as families to make the deci-8
80	80	sions that are right for them, including encouraging 9
81	81	parents to be integrated into the daily care of their 10
82	82	babies as much as possible; 11
83	83	(3) understands that parents are a neonatal in-12
84	84	tensive care unit baby’s best advocate, and asks hos-13
85	85	pitals to establish clear policies that prioritize paren-14
86	86	tal or primary caregiver presence, integration, and 15
87	87	collaboration, and involve family advocacy partners 16
88	88	in the creation and development of such policies 17
89	89	from the beginning of these discussions; 18
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92	92	•HRES 236 IH
93	93	(4) encourages hospitals to embrace an in-1
94	94	formed consent model for important care decisions 2
95	95	for all neonatal intensive care unit babies, including 3
96	96	treatment care plans and infant nutrition for all 4
97	97	neonatal intensive care unit babies, ensuring families 5
98	98	are fully informed of the risks and benefits of all 6
99	99	care options available, and empowering parents to 7
100	100	make informed decisions on behalf of their child; 8
101	101	(5) emphasizes the importance of a comprehen-9
102	102	sive discharge planning process that includes family 10
103	103	participation, ensuring the plan is tailored to the 11
104	104	needs of each individual baby and family; and 12
105	105	(6) underscores the importance of mental 13
106	106	health support for parents and family caregivers of 14
107	107	neonatal intensive care unit babies, including con-15
108	108	necting them to peer-to-peer support programs, sup-16
109	109	port groups, and counseling, whether in person or 17
110	110	virtual, to reduce the impact of perinatal mood and 18
111	111	anxiety disorders. 19
112	112	Æ
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