New York Senate Bill S05665

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/26/25
• Refer: 2/26/25
• Report Pass: 5/20/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Directs the department of health to conduct an ongoing public awareness and education program on doulas and how beneficial they are to pregnancies.

Summary

S05665 would add a new section to the Public Health Law directing the Department of Health to run an ongoing public awareness and education program about doulas and the benefits they can provide during pregnancy, labor, and birth. The department would be required to create and distribute educational materials for health care providers to share with patients, and to post information on its website about how doulas may help reduce maternal mortality and about the heightened risk of pregnancy-related death for Black pregnant individuals. The bill also allows the department to use educational materials produced by public, private, or governmental entities instead of creating its own, so long as the materials serve the same purpose. It requires the department to periodically review available data on maternal mortality and doulas, update its materials and website as needed, and report every three years beginning April 1, 2030, on implementation and recommendations. The act would take effect April 1, 2027.

Impact

This bill would not create a new licensing regime or mandate doula services, but it would expand the Department of Health’s public education responsibilities under the Public Health Law. It would affect state health communications, provider-facing patient education, and the department’s ongoing review of maternal mortality data, with a particular focus on pregnancy outcomes and racial disparities affecting Black pregnant individuals. The practical impact would be to increase statewide awareness of doulas and potentially encourage greater use of doula support in prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows unanimous support in the Senate Women's Issues Committee, with 7 yeas and 0 nays on both recorded votes. That suggests the bill was viewed favorably by committee members and was not especially controversial at that stage. The bill’s framing around maternal health, education, and reducing disparities likely contributed to the positive reception.

Contention

There is little evidence of direct opposition in the materials provided, and no committee transcript excerpts are available showing debate. The main policy questions implicit in the bill are whether the state should take an active role in promoting doula use, how strongly the materials should emphasize racial disparities in maternal mortality, and whether the department should produce its own materials or rely on outside sources. Any contention would likely center on the scope of state messaging and implementation rather than on the underlying goal of improving maternal health.