AUSTIN – A San Antonio legislator has introduced a bill directing pre-natal and delivery health care providers to give new parents an “Owner’s Manual” with their newborn. Rep. Mike Villarreal (D) says, “When you buy a new TV you receive a thick owner's manual… But as parents of newborns we leave the hospital without critical information on how to keep them safe…”
HB 1240 was filed Feb. 12 and amends an existing law which required hospitals, doctors and midwives to give parents or guardians a resource pamphlet. In addition to items about post-partum depression and shaken-baby syndrome among other things, the proposed law stresses the importance of giving information about the development, health, and safety of a child from birth until age five.
The resource pamphlet will be in both English and Spanish and complement existing materials handed out by medical personnel.
In addition to being printed, it will also be available on-line. No money has been appropriated for this and the bill envisions using “…gifts, grants, and sales of sponsorship or advertising” for creation and distribution.
According to a news release issued by Rep. Villarreal’s office, the state Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has developed a child development guide for parents of children from birth to age five. The state agency is already considering a proposal to use funding available from a lawsuit to fund the distribution of the guide to parents at Medicaid-sponsored births.
