City initiative aims
to help Queens moms
BY BILL PARRY
The city launched a new initiative
Monday that addresses the nearly
3,000 women who die or experience
life-threatening events related to childbirth
each year in the five boroughs.
In recognition of Human Rights Day
Monday, the Department of Health announced
new standards for respectful
care at birth detailing health protections
for pregnant women during and
after childbirth.
“Each year, thousands of New Yorkers
experience life-threatening complications
due to childbirth and regretfully
some even die,” Acting Health
Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said.
“The NYC Standards for Respectful
Care at Birth strongly asserts that a
safe birthing experience is a human
right. The ultimate goal is to promote
health equity by fostering an environment
where patients feel empowered
to assert their rights and advocate for
themselves, where providers listen and
trust their patients, and providers and
patients work as part of a team to make
joint decisions.”
The Health Department will engage
all 38 city maternity hospitals and other
clinical providers along with more
than 100 community-based organizations
to integrate the new standards
into their routine clinical care and
community engagement. It focuses on
six areas of respectful care at birth:
education; informed consent; decision
making; quality of care; and dignity
and non-discrimination.
“Every mother deserves the highest
quality care during and after each
childbirth, regardless of race, color, or
national origin, among other protected
categories,” NYC Commission on Human
Rights Chair and Commissioner
Carmelyn Malalis said. “In New York
City, pregnant individuals are protected
by one of the strongest anti-discrimination
laws in the nation, the NYC
Human Rights Law, which protects
individuals against discrimination in
employment, housing, and public accommodations,
including hospitals
and clinical settings.”
“We hope these new standards announced
today remind pregnant New
Yorkers of those strong protections
and send a message to health care providers
citywide that new and expecting
mothers deserve respect and dignity
in all aspects of their healthcare,”
Malalis added.
The city will distribute these posters
and brochures aiming to reduce
life threatening events related to
childbirth. Courtesy of
city Departnment of Health
The standards will be distributed
on posters and brochures to hospitals
and other clinical settings, communitybased
organizations and neighborhood
health action centers citywide.
In New York City, black women
are eight times more likely to die of a
pregnancy-related cause than white
women, while Asian and Latinas are
also at elevated risk, according to the
Health Department.
The city hopes the respectful care
program will reduce structural racism
and unconscious provider bias, which
affects birth outcomes in communities
of color.
“The stark and unacceptable racial
and ethnic inequities in maternal
deaths and serious health complications
from birth in NYC have persisted
for far too long,” Health Department
Deputy Commissioner Dr. George
Askew said. “No mother should ever
worry about the quality of care they’ll
receive during childbirth, nor that their
voices won’t be heard. It’s only through
a collaborative and sustainable effort
with our hospital systems, community
organizations and residents working
together that we can ignite change.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail
at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at
(718) 260–4538.
Contact the newsroom:
718-260-4545 • timesledgernews@cnglocal.com
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