--- title: HR 1819. Birth Responders Day; May 8, 2026; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr1819 cite_as: HR 1819, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1819 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1819.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1819/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74300 date: 2026-03-19 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1818.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1820.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 134 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1819.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 1819 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-19 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Park Cannon text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR1819/2025 upstream_id: 2136380 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - maternal health - birth workers - doulas and midwives - commemorative resolution - Georgia House of Representatives --- # HR 1819. Birth Responders Day; May 8, 2026; recognize ## Text House Resolution 1819 By: Representative Cannon of the 58th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and honoring Birth Responders and proclaiming May 8, 2026, as Birth Responders Day; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Birth Responders is an innovative maternal response and wellness model founded by Safira Zayas to address the urgent need for compassionate, culturally responsive, and specialized maternal transport, emergency support, and wellness services for women and families in both rural and urban communities; and WHEREAS, Birth Responders was born from Safira Zayas's lived experience, professional training, and unwavering commitment to reproductive justice, maternal wellness, and the preservation of life, particularly for women and infants affected by longstanding disparities in maternal health outcomes; and WHEREAS, Safira Zayas is a devoted mother of four adult children, grandmother of six grandchildren, and a multifaceted healthcare and wellness professional whose work has been shaped by her service as a reproductive justice advocate, doula, traditional midwife, massage therapist, and emergency medical technician; and WHEREAS, through years of service to mothers, babies, and families, Safira Zayas recognized a critical gap in emergency maternal support systems and responded by envisioning a model that bridges pre-hospital care, maternal transport, birth support, neonatal resuscitation awareness, infant CPR education, and holistic wellness services; and WHEREAS, Birth Responders represents a pioneering and much-needed niche in community care by combining maternal health advocacy, birth worker knowledge, emergency medical response, and family-centered support into a model designed to improve outcomes and restore dignity, safety, and trust for women during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum recovery, and maternal crisis; and WHEREAS, Birth Responders is also committed to building a workforce pathway for women, doulas, midwives, and other birth workers by creating meaningful opportunities for training, certification, leadership, and economic empowerment, with the goal of improving not only maternal health outcomes but also the quality of life and long-term stability of families and communities; and WHEREAS, by developing a workforce rooted in compassion, cultural understanding, and specialized maternal care, Birth Responders seeks to open doors for women to transform their gifts into sustainable careers that strengthen households, create generational opportunity, and expand the maternal health support system throughout Georgia; and WHEREAS, the mission of Birth Responders is especially significant in the State of Georgia, where families in underserved communities, including rural areas and historically marginalized populations, continue to face barriers to timely maternal care, transportation access, emergency response, and culturally responsive support; and WHEREAS, Birth Responders further advances education, prevention, and preparedness by promoting maternal wellness, infant safety, neonatal resuscitation support, and infant CPR awareness, thereby strengthening emergency response capacity as well as family and community resilience; and WHEREAS, Safira Zayas has dedicated her life's work to ensuring that no woman feels unseen, unsupported, or unprotected during one of the most vulnerable and sacred times of her life, and Birth Responders stands as a reflection of her vision, courage, innovation, and service to the people of Georgia; and WHEREAS, the establishment of Birth Responders Day would recognize not only the launch of a groundbreaking maternal response initiative, but also the importance of protecting mothers, supporting infants, uplifting families, creating workforce opportunities for women birth workers, and advancing safer birth outcomes throughout Georgia and beyond. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize and honor Birth Responders for its visionary and compassionate contribution to maternal health, emergency response, and workforce development in the State of Georgia. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that May 8, 2026, is hereby proclaimed as Birth Responders Day in honor of the launch of Birth Responders and in celebration of the vision, service, and leadership of Safira Zayas. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to Safira Zayas and Birth Responders. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution proclaims May 8, 2026 as Birth Responders Day, honoring the maternal health organization Birth Responders and its founder Safira Zayas. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives recognizes Birth Responders, a maternal response and wellness organization founded by Safira Zayas, and formally designates May 8, 2026 as Birth Responders Day. The resolution describes the organization's work supporting maternal transport, emergency response, birth support, and workforce training for doulas and midwives, particularly in underserved rural and urban Georgia communities. The resolution does not create any new law, funding, or program. It is a ceremonial statement by the House honoring Birth Responders' contributions to maternal health and workforce development in Georgia. The Clerk of the House is directed to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to Safira Zayas and the organization. ### What it does - Formally recognizes and honors Birth Responders for its work in maternal health, emergency response, and workforce development in Georgia. - Proclaims May 8, 2026 as Birth Responders Day in the State of Georgia. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare and distribute copies of the resolution to Safira Zayas and Birth Responders. - Creates no new funding, program, agency duties, or changes to Georgia law. ### Who it affects The resolution directly names Safira Zayas and the organization Birth Responders. It also touches maternal health advocates, doulas, midwives, and birth workers in Georgia, as well as families in rural and underserved communities that the organization aims to serve. ### Why it matters Because this is a ceremonial resolution, it does not change any Georgia law, create funding, or impose new requirements. Its practical effect is limited to an official day of recognition and a distributed copy of the resolution honoring the organization's founder and mission. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe Birth Responders' founding by Safira Zayas and its focus on maternal transport, emergency support, and wellness services. - The first resolving clause has the House recognize and honor Birth Responders for its contributions to maternal health, emergency response, and workforce development. - The second resolving clause proclaims May 8, 2026 as Birth Responders Day in Georgia. - The final resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to make copies of the resolution available to Safira Zayas and Birth Responders. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-19) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-03-19) - Sponsors: Park Cannon - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74300 > The history, votes, and amendments (134 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr1819.md?full=1