[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1494 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1494
Recognizing the threat of air pollution and extreme heat to maternal
and infant health, and expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives that meaningful interventions must be rapidly and
equitably developed and deployed to address the unique vulnerabilities
of pregnancy in Latino communities.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2024
Ms. Barragan (for herself, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Tlaib, Mr.
Cleaver, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, and Mrs. Napolitano) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
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RESOLUTION
Recognizing the threat of air pollution and extreme heat to maternal
and infant health, and expressing the sense of the House of
Representatives that meaningful interventions must be rapidly and
equitably developed and deployed to address the unique vulnerabilities
of pregnancy in Latino communities.
Whereas there is a significant association between air pollution and heat
exposure to maternal and fetal health outcomes in the United States;
Whereas pregnancy represents a sensitive window of susceptibility to
environmental toxins for women, as the pregnant body undergoes
physiological changes in all major organ systems;
Whereas air pollution can be linked to adverse maternal health outcomes,
including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, polycystic ovarian
syndrome, subfertility, miscarriage, and failure of assisted
reproductive technology;
Whereas air pollutant exposure can be linked to reduced conception rates and
fertility;
Whereas exposure to particle pollution and ozone can lead to adverse birth
outcomes such as preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth;
Whereas prenatal exposure to air pollution can lead to asthma and allergy
development in children, and increase offspring susceptibility to
disease in adulthood;
Whereas immigrant, low-income communities of color are two times as likely to
live in the most polluted counties in the United States, compared with
White mothers, even after controlling for maternal risk factors, region,
and educational status;
Whereas, of all groups, Latina mothers have the highest likelihood of living in
areas with the highest levels of air pollution compared to their White
counterparts;
Whereas a statewide California study that assigned pollutant exposures using
ambient air quality monitors showed that Latina mothers are at higher
risk of experiencing stillbirth from ozone exposure throughout their
entire pregnancy than other ethnicities;
Whereas climate change is linked to and exacerbates ozone production in the
atmosphere;
Whereas pregnant women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, as
pregnancy naturally elevates the body's temperature, makes it more
susceptible to external temperatures, weakens its ability to
thermoregulate, and increases risk of overheating;
Whereas extreme heat increases the risk of preterm labor, low birth weight, and
pregnancy loss;
Whereas Latina women exposed to extreme heat had double or more the risk of
preterm birth or stillbirth than White women;
Whereas Latinos are disproportionately represented in the outdoor workforce,
such as agriculture and construction, and therefore at higher risk of
extreme heat exposure;
Whereas older housing, a scarcity of green spaces, and lack of access to air
conditioning increase the vulnerability of low-income pregnant women to
heat;
Whereas there is a large ethnic and racial gap in maternal morbidity and
mortality between Latinas and non-Hispanic Whites;
Whereas, even with private insurance, Latinas have a 22-percent higher rate of
experiencing pregnancy problems;
Whereas compounding inequalities and systemic racism heighten Latinas'
vulnerability during pregnancy due to preexisting conditions such as
diabetes and obesity, socioeconomic status, education, lack of proper
access to health care, and sexism and racism within health care systems
that inhibit proper communication and treatment;
Whereas language barriers and medical and institutional mistrust prevent Latinas
from accessing critical information and from communicating needs to
medical professionals;
Whereas disproportionate exposure to pollution and climate-induced extreme heat
can manifest itself in issues of mental health for pregnant Latinas
during the postpartum period;
Whereas Latinas already have a 40-percent greater risk of experiencing
postpartum depression than White mothers;
Whereas a University of Southern California study cohort of Latina mothers
expressed fear, uncertainty, and frustration about power imbalances that
prevented meaningful action to address outdoor air pollution and
exposure to smog;
Whereas Latinas become pregnant at a younger age than other racial and ethnic
groups; and
Whereas Latinas have the highest rate of pregnancy in the United States: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes that causes of health-harming and climate-
warming sources of pollution must be mitigated, broad policy
changes are needed, and that there is an immediate need to
equip pregnant Latinas and families that are overburdened by
air pollution and heat exposure with preventative tools and
knowledge during this period of heightened susceptibility for
maternal and infant health;
(2) recognizes that legislation and funding must include
considerations of not only the unique physical and mental
vulnerabilities to environmental exposures for pregnant women
but also the social and economic injustices faced by Latina
mothers;
(3) supports providing place-based information in English
and Spanish regarding vulnerabilities of pregnancy and tangible
and affordable action items pregnant women can take to reduce
exposure to air pollution and heat;
(4) supports the placement of air quality monitoring
systems in Latino communities to track pollution levels and
inform residents about health-harming conditions;
(5) supports bilingual, easily accessible public alerts for
air quality and extreme heat and weather;
(6) supports the incorporation of education about the
unique vulnerabilities of pregnant women to pollution and heat
into professional training for health care professionals,
educators, and child care providers;
(7) supports the improvement of extreme heat and air
pollution guidelines at community centers and health care
facilities, especially those facilities that serve women;
(8) supports mutual aid networks and community resilience
programs to support pregnant women and families;
(9) supports increased affordability of air conditioning
units and air purifiers for pregnant women and families;
(10) supports expanded access to cooling centers and
hydration stations in public areas such as bus stops and
``clean'' rooms in communities near busy roads and polluting
facilities;
(11) supports the creation of more shaded and green spaces
in low-income neighborhoods to provide relief from heat and
promote community mental wellness;
(12) supports the enforcement of regular work breaks,
increasing access to hydration and shade, and providing
bilingual education on the dangers of heat exposure in the
outdoor workforce, especially for pregnant women;
(13) supports increasing access to Latina doulas; and
(14) recognizes the importance of community-based research
and data collection to better understand the risks and needs in
Latino communities.
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