Senate Bill No. by Senator McMath establishes a Perinatal Bereavement Care Initiative within the Louisiana Department of Health, specifically under the office on women's health and community health. The initiative aims to improve access to and the quality of perinatal bereavement care across the state. The bill outlines the responsibilities of the Louisiana Department of Health, which include coordinating with the Commission on Perinatal Care and Prevention of Infant Mortality, as well as nonprofit organizations, to provide essential resources to hospitals that offer maternity care.

The initiative will focus on training hospital personnel on how to support parents and family members following tragic events such as intrauterine fetal demise, neonatal death, or stillbirth. It will also provide perinatal bereavement devices and identify available services for grief counseling and support groups. The bill prioritizes hospitals that lack access to bereavement devices, treat a high number of high-risk maternal patients, and deliver a significant number of babies. Additionally, the Louisiana Department of Health is authorized to seek and receive funding from various sources, including federal funds, gifts, grants, and donations, to support the initiative. The effective date for this legislation is August 1, 2026.