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City Council leaders press for $15.7M maternal health investment amid stark racial disparities
Summary
Council leaders and advocates at a City Hall event during Black Maternal Health Week urged state and city action to address maternal mortality in New York City, citing 50–60 pregnancy-related deaths a year and a sixfold higher risk for Black New Yorkers.
Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala and Speaker Adrienne Adams joined council members, midwives and advocates at City Hall during Black Maternal Health Week to push state and city budget actions aimed at reducing maternal mortality and addressing racial disparities in pregnancy outcomes.
The event highlighted that New York City records about 50 to 60 pregnancy-related deaths each year and that Black New Yorkers are about six times more likely than white New Yorkers to die of pregnancy-related causes. "Every loss of a life represents a family and a community torn apart from needless and preventable tragedy," Speaker Adrienne Adams said, asking the room to observe a moment of silence for recent maternal deaths.
The council's maternal health steering committee, convened by Speaker Adams six months earlier, is advancing specific state and city policy priorities. Those state-level proposals cited at the event include full reimbursement of telehealth services for community health…
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