Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER II — GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES › Part P — Additional Programs › § 280g–5
Allows the Secretary to run or fund projects that improve how information about preterm birth reaches health workers and the public and that improve care and outcomes for mothers and babies born early. These efforts can test new methods and work with states, tribes, and community groups to teach about the main risk factors for preterm labor, proven ways to prevent preterm birth, when early delivery is medically needed versus not, and why preconception and prenatal care matters. Prenatal care topics include quitting smoking, healthy weight and nutrition (including folic acid), screening and treating infections, substance use disorders, maternal depression, immunizations for mothers, and stress management. Programs may also cover treatment and outcomes for premature babies (including late preterm infants) and what families need to know while a baby is in a neonatal intensive care unit. The Secretary can also fund services that increase access to pregnancy and post-term information through counselors, community outreach, phone or online help about causes of prematurity, birth defects, post-term risks, and preventing future preterm birth. Support can be provided to families during a baby’s NICU stay, the transition home, or after a newborn death, plus any other programs the Secretary finds useful. Congress authorized $1,900,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 to carry out these activities.
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 280g–5
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110