Committee approves bill requiring post-birth warning signs and resources at discharge

House Bill 0572, sponsored by Representative Hemmer, passed the Population Health Committee unanimously 9-0. The bill directs the Tennessee Department of Health to make information about post-birth warning signs and available resources accessible to mothers prior to hospital discharge.

Representative Hemmer said the measure was developed with input from the Department of Health, the March of Dimes and others and grew out of review of the Maternal Mortality Review Committee's report. He said that in the most recent report year (2022) 55 Tennessee mothers did not survive pregnancy and that 76 percent of those deaths were preventable. Hemmer called the bill a low-cost, common-sense step to provide life-saving information at discharge, citing postpartum warning signs including mental-health concerns and infections as leading causes of maternal death.

Committee members asked for clarification about how the bill would work alongside standard clinical discharge instructions. Chairman Terry and others discussed whether the department would supply a high-level list of warning signs and resources (for example, posters or downloadable materials hospitals could use) rather than prescriptive clinical instructions for individual patients. Representative Hemmer said the intention was to give the department flexibility to serve as a clearinghouse of resources that hospitals and clinicians could use as part of discharge planning.

The clerk read the vote as 9 ayes, 0 nays; the committee chair announced the bill will move to full Health Committee consideration.