# Plain Language Summary: Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act

This bill creates a new federal grant program to help pregnant women, new mothers, and babies deal with climate-related health risks. The Department of Health and Human Services would give grants to ten organizations across the country to identify climate dangers like extreme heat, air pollution, and severe weather that can harm pregnant women and infants, then provide services to protect them. The program would focus on areas hit hardest by climate change and health disparities, particularly communities with high rates of maternal death or serious pregnancy complications.

The grants would fund practical help for vulnerable families, including air conditioning units, home weatherization improvements, financial assistance, and support during extreme weather events like hurricanes or wildfires. Healthcare providers and community workers would get training to spot climate-related health risks and counsel pregnant women about protecting themselves. The program would also collect data on how climate change affects different neighborhoods so local doctors and health workers can better understand and address these dangers in their communities.

A key focus is addressing racial and ethnic health disparities. The bill specifically requires grant recipients to explain how they'll reduce gaps in maternal and infant health outcomes between different communities and how they'll prevent their programs from accidentally displacing residents or raising housing costs in the neighborhoods they serve. Each grant would last four years, and organizations would need to involve community groups and patients in planning their programs. The goal is to give pregnant women and new mothers in vulnerable areas the information, resources, and support they need to stay healthy despite climate-related environmental challenges.

Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act

Protecting Moms and Babies Against Climate Change Act This bill establishes requirements and grants that address risks associated with climate change, particularly for vulnerable individuals (i.e., members of racial and ethnic minority groups, pregnant or postpartum individuals, and children younger than age three). Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a program to award grants to partnerships of community-based organizations and other entities to identify and address climate-change-related risks to these individuals at a county level. HHS must also establish a program to award grants to health professional schools for developing&#8212;and integrating into their curriculums&#8212;education and training on identifying risks associated with climate change for vulnerable individuals. In addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must establish the Consortium on Birth and Climate Change Research. The consortium must coordinate research on such risks conducted and supported by various NIH institutes and offices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must also develop a strategy to designate areas that have a high risk of adverse maternal and infant health outcomes among vulnerable individuals due to risks associated with climate change.