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December 04, 2025 Clear | 21°F
The 194th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  1. General Laws
  2. Part I ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
  3. Title XVI PUBLIC HEALTH
  4. Chapter 111 PUBLIC HEALTH
  5. Section 24P In-depth fetal and infant mortality review of each individual fetal or infant death

Section 24P

Section 24P: In-depth fetal and infant mortality review of each individual fetal or infant death

[ Text of section added by 2024, 186, Sec. 16 effective November 21, 2024.]

  Section 24P. (a) As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:

  "Fetal death'', as defined in section 202.

  "Infant death'', the death of an infant that occurs between the birth of the infant and 1 year of age.

  (b) The department shall establish a program to conduct an in-depth fetal and infant mortality review of each individual fetal or infant death occurring within the commonwealth in order to identify social, economic and systems factors associated with fetal and infant deaths and inform public health policy programs. For each case of fetal or infant death to be reviewed, the department may collect relevant data from a variety of sources including, but not limited to, physician and hospital records and relevant information from local boards of health and community organizations.

  (c) The department shall promulgate regulations consistent with this section regarding the process for conducting fetal infant mortality reviews, which shall include provisions for protecting confidential information and guidance from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration's National Fetal, Infant, and Child Death Review Program.