The SHINE for Autumn Act focuses on improving how the United States tracks and understands stillbirths. Right now, there's not enough consistent data collection about why stillbirths happen, which makes it harder for doctors and public health officials to prevent them. This bill aims to fix that problem.

The bill gives money to states to collect better data about stillbirths, including information about what factors might have contributed to them. States would gather this information from health records, medical examinations, and placental studies—but all of this data would be kept private and anonymous so no one's personal health information gets exposed. The bill also funds training for state health departments to make sure they're collecting this information in a consistent, standardized way across the country.

Another key part requires the federal government to create guidelines and educational materials about stillbirths for healthcare providers and the public. The government would work with doctors, nurses, midwives, mental health professionals, and importantly, families who have experienced stillbirths to make sure these guidelines are helpful and respectful. The bill sets aside about $5 million per year for data collection efforts and $1 million per year for creating guidelines and educational materials, running from 2026 through 2030. Ultimately, this is about gathering the information we need to better understand and prevent stillbirths.