With New Jersey mothers dying in alarming numbers during and immediately after childbirth, lawmakers Tuesday approved measures to boost access to medical care for pregnant women, expand their treatment options and limit the numbers of cesarean births.

Two of the bills would change the state’s Medicaid program to provide eligible women with pregnancy-related coverage for a year after childbirth — up from the current period of 60 days — and provide access to doulas, or labor and delivery coaches.

Another measure seeks to limit “early elective deliveries” such as cesarean sections and labor inductions before the 39th week of pregnancy, which can carry risks for both babies and mothers.

“We have to sound the alarm on this issue,” Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr., D-Burlington, said in a statement. “For thousands of women, the surge in maternal deaths has caused childbirth to become a time of concern, and sometimes death, rather than joy and excitement.”

CHILDBIRTH:New Jersey C-section rate is still high. See how your hospital compares

NJ NEWS:New Jersey ranked ninth worst state to drive in

The bills were considered at a joint hearing of the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee, which Conaway leads, and the Assembly Women and Children Committee. They must still be passed by the full Assembly and Senate and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, to become law.

Tuesday’s votes came a day before Tammy Murphy, the governor's wife, is scheduled to hold an event at Cooper University Hospital in Camden to speak about the state’s efforts to promote maternal health and reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes.

Overall, New Jersey ranks 45th among the 50 states in maternal death, according to America's Health Rankings, a report by the United Health Foundation. Thirty-eight women die, on average, for every 100,000 live births in New Jersey, compared with 21 nationally.

Racial disparities remain a serious concern in the state. Black mothers are more than four times more likely than white mothers to die from pregnancy-related complications. At the same time, black babies in the state are more than three times as likely to die before their first birthday as white babies — the largest gap in the nation and a phenomenon that is unrelated to income or education

In July, Tammy Murphy announced $4.3 million in grants to address those disparities, saying it is "shameful that race persists as a factor in maternal health and infant mortality rates in New Jersey."

Although the infant mortality rate in New Jersey has declined steadily over the years, the racial gap has persisted despite two decades of attention. If the gap were closed, 95 more babies each year would live to see their first birthday.

The bill to expand Medicaid coverage for post-childbirth care, A-4934, could benefit a significant portion of mothers with infants, as Medicaid covers roughly 40 percent of the state’s births each year.

Ward Sanders, president of the New Jersey Association of Health Plans, who testified in favor of the bill on Tuesday, said the measure would also encourage low-income mothers to take their children to the doctor.

“If the kid has coverage but the mom doesn’t, the mother is less likely to take the kid to get care,” he said. “If both the parent and the kid are covered under the same plan, they are more likely to obtain services.”

The bill to limit early elective deliveries, A-4935, would do so by prohibiting health benefits coverage through Medicaid and some state health plans for deliveries that are "non-medically indicated."

New Jersey has one of the highest rates in the nation of cesarean sections among low-risk mothers, a surgical procedure that increases the danger of birth complications. Nearly one-third of low-risk women in the state deliver via C-section.

Other bills approved Tuesday would require the state Department of Health to establish treatment guidelines for hospitals providing maternity care and to develop new resources to enhance care for women before, during and after pregnancy.

Identical measures have been filed in the Senate but most have not seen action.

Email: pugliese@northjersey.com