A 2168: Requires the department of health to develop and maternal health care providers to distribute written information about episiotomy to maternity patients.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2168 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 15, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, SEAWRIGHT, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SAYEGH, SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to requiring the department of health to develop and maternal health care providers to distribute written information about episiotomy to maternity patients The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 2500-n to read as follows: 3 § 2500-n. Duty of providers of maternity services to inform. 1. (a) 4 Every maternal health care provider shall provide the written communi- 5 cation established in subdivision two of this section prior to delivery 6 to each pregnant patient for whom a vaginal delivery is planned. 7 (b) Every maternal health care provider who attends to a vaginal 8 delivery which was not planned prenatally shall provide the written 9 communication established in subdivision two of this section to the 10 patient following delivery. 11 (c) As used in this section: "maternal health care provider" or 12 "provider" shall mean a physician, midwife, nurse practitioner, or 13 physician assistant, acting within the practitioner's scope of practice, 14 managing the pregnancy or labor of a pregnant patient. 15 2. (a) The commissioner shall develop a written communication or 16 communications for maternal health care providers to distribute to 17 maternity patients as required in subdivision one of this section, which 18 contains information about episiotomy. The commissioner shall consult 19 with appropriate health care professionals, providers, consumers, educa- 20 tors and patients or organizations representing them, including but not 21 limited to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and 22 the New York State Association of Licensed Midwives to develop such 23 written communication or communications. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05238-01-5 
 A. 2168 2 1 (b) Such written communication or communications shall include, but 2 not be limited to information on: 3 i. potential maternal injuries associated with episiotomy; 4 ii. the impact an episiotomy may have on future deliveries; 5 iii. circumstances in which episiotomy may be necessary to save the 6 life or protect the health of the mother or fetus; and 7 iv. the general requirement that an episiotomy may only be done with 8 the patient's consent and the circumstances in which an episiotomy may 9 be done without patient consent. 10 (c) The commissioner shall ensure that all information included in the 11 written communication or communications are maintained and updated to 12 reflect current clinical guidelines. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 14 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the commissioner of 15 health shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably neces- 16 sary to implement this act on that date.