Sen. Batch introduces bill in North Carolina Senate to address maternal health and disparities

State Sen. Sydney Batch has introduced a new bill in the North Carolina Senate with the goal of improving statewide maternal health outcomes and tackling disparities in care, as detailed by the North Carolina State Senate.

Filed as SB 906 on April 29 in the 2025 regular session, the measure was given the short title: ‘MOMnibus 3.5.’

This summary is based on a direct review of the bill text and includes interpretation for clarity where needed.

The bill establishes the North Carolina MOMnibus Act, which combines several programs and funding streams to lower maternal mortality and address racial differences in care. It introduces maternal care access and perinatal education grants directed at community organizations serving Black women, with grant amounts generally set between $10,000 and $50,000. The measure allocates $5 million in recurring funds and $3 million in one-time funds, both beginning July 1, 2026. It mandates an evidence-based implicit bias training program for perinatal health care workers and links training completion to license renewal beginning in late 2026, in addition to outlining core patient rights in perinatal health settings. Further investments include $3 million for lactation-support training at North Carolina HBCUs and a $6.5 million “Momni-Bus Initiative” to broaden maternal, infant health, and parenting support in areas lacking maternity care, with built-in requirements to report on outcomes.

Among the three sponsors of this proposal, Natalie S. Murdock sponsored the most bills (92) during the 2025 regular session.

In North Carolina, legislation moves through a multi-step process before it becomes law. A legislator first files a bill, and it is then reviewed by a committee. Each chamber must read the legislation three times. If one chamber amends a bill that has already passed the other, both must reach agreement on a final version. When both chambers back the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who then has 10 days (or 30 days if the session is adjourned) to sign, veto, or allow it to become law without a signature.

Find information on additional bills and measures here.

Batch earned a BA in 2001 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later received a JD from the University of North Carolina.

Batch, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2021, representing the 17th Senate district and succeeding then-State Sen. Dan Blue.