THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	8
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

requesting the department of health, maternal and child health branch, to study the role of gestational environments, gentle birthing practices, adult wellness education, domestic harmony awareness, appropriate and sufficient touch, and the practice of healing birth trauma, and their connection to public policy concerns such as substance abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, and obesity.

     WHEREAS, in memory of Hawaii residents Daysha Aiona Aka and Sarah Marie Faye whose passions for life were cut short as victims of domestic violence, this body shares in the public outcry regarding the need to educate, collaborate, and develop strategies to address domestic violence; and

     WHEREAS, this body finds that societal issues such as domestic violence, substance and alcohol abuse, and obesity, involve important public policy concerns that require study and deliberation in order to identify strategies to reduce their prevalence in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, it has been recognized that wellness education teaches healthy development and peaceful coexistence of family members and thus decreases incidences of substance abuse, alcoholism, and domestic violence; and

     WHEREAS, recent scientific findings in a variety of disciplines have contributed to an emerging understanding of the primal developmental needs of individuals from conception through early infancy; and

     WHEREAS, it is relatively well-known and accepted that the health and well-being of an unborn child is linked to the health and well-being of the mother; and

     WHEREAS, it has been suggested that the experience of birth imprints the basic personality of a child; and

     WHEREAS, it has been asserted that domestic abuse and turmoil during the prenatal period, labor, birth, or in a newborn child's domestic environment can negatively impact the child's development; and

     WHEREAS, science suggests that appropriate and sufficient touch and human contact between an infant child and the child's caregivers is integral to a child's healthy development; and

     WHEREAS, the right of a woman to choose the course of a pregnancy also extends the right of a woman to choose where she will labor and to give birth with qualified caregivers of her choice; and

     WHEREAS, it has been suggested that the increased incidence of inducement and narcotic use during labor, as well as the increase in surgical births, are related to an increase in pre-term births and long-term health conditions, including a greater propensity to over use drugs throughout life, thereby indicating a need for consistent science-based protocols and policies in this field; and

     WHEREAS, this body recognizes the positive impact of trained birthing professionals and, in particular, birth doulas, who are trained and experienced childbirth professionals who provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during, and just after childbirth; and

     WHEREAS, this body acknowledges that a growing body of science from diverse fields supports further study of the roles of gestational environments, gentle birthing practices, adult wellness education, domestic harmony awareness, appropriate and sufficient touch, and the practice of healing birth trauma, and the impact these practices may have on reducing the occurrence of substance abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, and obesity; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Department of Health, Maternal and Child Health Branch, is requested to study the roles of gestational environments, gentle birthing practices, adult wellness education, domestic harmony awareness, appropriate and sufficient touch, and the practice of healing birth trauma, and the impact these practices may have on reducing the occurrence of substance abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, and obesity; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health, Maternal and Child Health Branch, is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Senate no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Health, and the Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Branch.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Maternal and child health; impact of certain practices on substance abuse, alcoholism, domestic violence, and obesity.