By ABIGAIL FINNEY

RCNS – A bill proposed by a Prince William County senator would establish a pilot program for researching maternal diabetes and maternal hypertension that could aid maternal care deserts across Virginia if passed.
SB 721, proposed by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, would establish the Maternal Health Monitoring Pilot Program for the fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to offer eligible participants improved maternal health care through remote patient monitoring.

The bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Education and Health on Jan. 14, where it awaits further approval.

“This will be significant, especially for women in rural communities, because oftentimes their health facilities have closed or it takes an hour to get to their doctor or emergency room,” Foy said.

Maternal hypertension is a common health concern in Virginia, with roughly 1 in 12 pregnancies (approx. 8%) affected by some form of high blood pressure, according to Virginia Department of Health data.

Early detection is essential for preventing complications like preeclampsia, a condition that can be life-threatening for both the mother and the baby.

The program would monitor health data, including blood pressure, weight, blood glucose levels and other physiological health data as determined by the eligible participant’s health care provider. This data will be able to support better intervention of maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes in the future.

“I think more information is best, because then we can make evidence based decisions about what needs to happen,” Foy said.

A deeper knowledge of this data will be vital for rural regions that are already suffering from lack of access to maternal care. Maternal deserts, or counties where women have to drive more than 30 minutes for maternal care, cover large parts of Virginia.

Approximately 30.8% to 37.6% of Virginia’s counties are considered maternity care deserts, meaning they have no hospitals offering obstetric care, no birth centers and no obstetric clinicians.

“When you look at a lot of the data regarding the healthcare professions, one of the glaring things is the amount of OBGYNs that are practicing in rural areas, and this definitely affects southwest Virginia,” said Harrison Hayes, the Executive Director of the Virginia Health Workforce Development Authority (VHWDA).

According to the Virginia Health Department, all census tracts within Patrick County are classified as Health Professional Shortage Areas, and around 6.5% of pregnant women in the county did not receive prenatal care or sought such services late, compared with the state average of 5.8%.

Other cities around Patrick County are also facing struggles. Connor is “highly suspicious” that Dansville and Martinsville will have high numbers in both maternal hypertension and maternal diabetes.

“That’s partly why we want to be able to really pin down what’s going on there so we can better address it,” Connor said.

Roshay Richardson, a breastfeeding coordinator at VRHA and lead chair of the Maternal Health Taskforce for the Health Collaborative, has lived in Danville since she was six years old. She has always been fascinated with birth, but her first pregnancy opened her eyes to the lack of access to maternal care in rural areas.

“All the things that I wanted, that I envisioned for my birth to go before I had ever gotten pregnant, were not there and that really made me realize like, okay, you can’t keep sitting around waiting for these things to come,” Richardson said. “It might be you that has to take the first step.”

With several years with the VRHA under belt, there is a pattern she has recognized.

“I’ve honestly only had maybe a handful [of patients]who were just completely healthy,” she said. “Most of the clients I’ve had, they have had hypertension during their pregnancy or have to go in and do the glucose screenings multiple times. So it is more common, I will say, in our areas, which is really interesting.”