Change.org - Prevent infant deaths

A simple procedure could help women know if they’re at risk of cervical insufficiency. This condition has the potential to lead to pregnancy loss or severe prematurity. But many insurance companies don’t cover the screening. And that has devastating consequences for countless women and families. New York State legislator Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn wants to fix this. “No woman should be denied care,” she says. Sign her petition urging lawmakers to require insurance companies to cover screening for cervical insufficiency. Cervical insufficiency causes preventable infant deaths. Ask insurance to screen for it. 898 have signed Office of Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn’s petition. Let’s get to 1,000!

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Preterm births stemming from cervical insufficiency can often be prevented with screening, but for insurance companies, it’s more about their bottom line than about doing what is right.  All women deserve to receive a standard of care consistent with modern medical capabilities. However, it is impossible to separate the issue of race from this conversation. Black women in the U.S. are 50% more likely to have a preterm birth than white women. Women like Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and Carolyn Spiro Levitt and families, know this pain all too well. No woman should be denied care. Don’t let that continue to be the case. There is a bill before the New York State legislature that can change that -- but only if it’s passed. Add your name to the petition calling on the New York State Legislature to PASS the Eli Parker Levitt Law, which requires insurance policies to provide coverage for screening for this condition in New York State.   In the words of Carolyn Spiro Levitt, mom of the late Eli Levitt, "I went through labor and delivered our beautiful, tiny, perfect baby boy. The moment he was born was both the most amazing and most devastating moment I have ever experienced. I could see immediately that he looked exactly like my husband. He passed away within about 15 seconds. We held him for hours, studying his little button nose, his sweet lips, his 10 fingers and toes. As tragically as we lost him, we were surprised to learn that a simple ultrasound or check of the cervix a few weeks earlier could have made all the difference. IC affects about 1 in 100 pregnancies, according to the Cleveland Clinic. IC can lead to both pregnancy loss as well as severe prematurity, leading to excruciatingly long and risky NICU stays. IC typically happens between weeks 16 and 20 of pregnancy, a time when many, if not most, women do not receive any ultrasounds or internal checks of the cervix."

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