Panel hears bill to allow hospitals to file fetal death reports electronically

Senate Bill 189 would authorize hospitals and birthing centers that already file birth records electronically to enter fetal death reports directly into the state’s electronic vital records system, a witness told the House Judiciary Committee.

Tommy O’Neil introduced the bill for Sen. Sue Prentiss and said the Department of State’s Division of Vital Records requested the change to modernize reporting for stillbirths and fetal deaths.

Christian Martino, director of Vital Records, told the committee the state currently asks hospitals to complete a pen-and-ink fetal death report and mail it to the division. The division’s staff then review records for completeness and enter them into the Nevern Plus database. Martino said the mailed forms are often incomplete and require follow-up with hospitals. Allowing hospitals to enter fetal death reports directly would reduce manual back-and-forth and let burial and transit permits be issued electronically from the same system.

Martino said the state follows the national standard for fetal-death reporting — typically fetal deaths at 20 weeks’ gestation or weighing at least 350 grams — which is the dataset the Centers for Disease Control requires. He provided counts to the committee: 44 fetal deaths in 2023 and 32 in 2024; of the 2024 total, 31 occurred in hospitals with active maternity wards. New Hampshire currently has 15 hospitals with active maternity wards and three birthing centers, he said.

Martino said the division recently migrated its registry platform and has built the fetal-death input capability; implementation would be a configuration toggle rather than a major software build, and no fiscal impact was expected. He also told members the change should reduce delays for funeral directors because disposition/burial permits could be issued directly and sooner through the electronic registry.

Members sought clarification about edge cases and privacy. Rep. McFarland asked how the system would handle identity concerns or deliveries in which a baby is born alive and shortly thereafter dies; Martino said births and subsequent infant deaths are recorded differently from fetal deaths and that staff would provide additional technical clarification if requested. Members asked for information about the system’s access controls and penetration testing; Martino agreed to supply technical and security detail to committee staff.

Why it matters: The change aligns fetal death reporting with other vital records already filed electronically in the state, with potential benefits for timeliness, data quality and permit issuance for disposition of fetal remains.

No committee action was taken at the close of the hearing.