2025 SESSION
HOUSE SUBSTITUTE
25108185D
HOUSE BILL NO. 2446
AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE
(Proposed by the Governor
on March 24, 2025)
(Patron Prior to SubstituteDelegate Mundon King)
A BILL to direct the Department of Health, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, to implement a statewide public health campaign relating to pregnancy and postpartum risks and health promoting practices.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. 1. The Department of Health, in collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, shall collaborate with community-based organizations to develop and implement a statewide public health campaign to promote the importance of accessing prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum care. The campaign should incorporate community-targeted messaging to reflect that more than 80 percent of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable with awareness of key warning signs and timely medical intervention. The campaign should emphasize open communication between mothers and their health care providers to recognize the warning signs of potentially life-threatening maternal health conditions, such as cardiac conditions, behavioral health disorders, substance use disorders, preeclampsia, and perinatal and postpartum depression.