House sends Maeghan’s Law, an amniotic fluid embolism reporting bill to Senate
Rep. Jansen Owen (R) describes Maeghan's Law while on the floor of the House on Feb. 11. The bill would establish reporting requirements for instances of the condition along with training. (Photo by Jeremy Pittari | Magnolia Tribune)
- The namesake of the bill was a Pearl River County mother who recently passed away while giving birth to her third child.
The death of a Poplarville mother from a rare condition prompted one lawmaker to introduce a bill in the Mississippi House that calls for reporting and more research on amniotic fluid embolisms.
HB 1296, titled Maeghan’s Law, set forth requirements meant to shed light on the rare condition through a reporting system and additional training.
The namesake of the bill was a Pearl River County mother who recently passed away while giving birth to her third child.
“Maegan Smith Bates was a very close, well, a cousin and friend of mine, from Poplarville, Mississippi,” State Rep. Jansen Owen (R) told her colleagues on the floor of the House last week. “She was 32 years old. A few weeks ago, she went to the hospital to give birth to her third child, and she suffered what’s called an amnionic fluid embolism.”
The condition occurs when amnionic fluid enters the mother’s blood stream, which can result in organ failure and potentially death of the mother.
Maeghan’s Law looks to create a mandatory system to report instances of amniotic fluid embolisms to the state’s Commission on Maternal Mortality, along with establishing a campaign to educate physicians and parents about the early signs of the condition.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the condition is rare but has a high mortality rate.
Jill Smith, Bates’ mother, said Forrest General Hospital staff informed the family that Maeghan’s case was only the third the facility had seen in four decades. Smith said losing her daughter unnecessarily is why she is calling for more to be done to educate the public and the state’s medical staff.
“We did not know it even existed,” Smith told Magnolia Tribune. “She’s already had two children, so this was her third child and when they came out and told us what it was, I had to Google it because I had no idea. I think there needs to be more awareness brought to the public and to the physicians. Everybody needs to have a plan in place in case something like this happens. And I think every pregnant woman needs to know there is a risk for this.”
Rep. Owen said the newborn child is home safe with the father and two siblings.
“I mean, she had a newborn, a 2-year-old and a 6-year-old and she was a stay-at-home mom,” Smith said. In addition to being a mother, Maeghan also taught GED classes part-time in her community.
Smith is hopeful that the bill and future endeavors will address the state’s high rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality.
“But Maeghan’s story is a story that unfortunately is happening too much in Mississippi,” Rep. Owen added.
“I appreciate Jansen doing this because this has had a traumatic effect on our family” Smith said.
State Rep. Zakiya Summers (D) worked with Owen to add training requirements within the bill for the State Health Department on the importance of maternal health along with educating the public about the positive aspects fathers have on maternal health.
The bill passed in the House by a vote of 119 to 0. It will now be under consideration by the Senate.
