BY HAILEY COGNETTI
The NYC City Council passed a package of bills aimed at strengthening maternal care and requiring greater transparency about maternal mortality cases. This package of bills, passed on October 10, comes after growing concerns over disparities in maternal care, particularly the care provided to Black women, people of color, low-income people, and immigrants..
The first bill introduced, Int. 912-B, sponsored by Council member Jennifer Gutiérrez, mandates that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) create and distribute resources for new parents or guardians of newborns after birth. Additionally, the bill requires the DOHMH to develop an online tool to help individuals find community-based organizations that provide maternal care.
Council member Farah Louis sponsored Int. 891-A, which would require the DOHMH to publicly post its annual report on maternal mortality. Louis also sponsored Int. 892-A, which requires employers to provide information on lactation room accommodations to new employees and post this policy around the workplace and online.
In addition to these measures, Resolution 133-A, sponsored by Council Member Julie Menin, urges the state to expand Medicaid to cover more pre- and postnatal care. This resolution particularly emphasizes access to doula services, which have been shown to improve maternal outcomes. Similarly, Resolution 293-A, introduced by Council Member Althea Stevens, calls on the city to develop a plan to address the maternal health crisis in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where maternal mortality rates are disproportionately high.
At a press conference one day before the council votes, Speaker Adrienne Adams addressed the ongoing maternal mortality crisis. “We are failing women during one of the most vulnerable periods of their lives,” Adams said at the conference.
The press conference followed the recent death of Bevorlin Garcia Barrios, a 24-year-old Black woman who died at Woodhull Medical Center in Williamsburg after receiving inadequate care during an emergency Cesarean section. Garcia Barrios’ death marks the third maternal death at Woodhull since 2020. Gacia Barrios went to Woodhull hospital with serious symptoms of pain and was sent home without adequate care. Just days later, she returned with even more severe symptoms. When she was finally admitted for the C-section on Sept. 15, she died of complications during the operation.
“In New York City an average of 20 women die each year from pregnancy or childbirth related causes,” Adams said.
Adams pointed to structural issues that lead to such tragic outcomes, especially the racial disparities that have long been present in maternal health. “When you look at the severe racial disparities in the cases of maternal mortality it becomes very clear that this is an unsung public health emergency,” Adams said. “These deaths are not accidents, they are a disturbing pattern of injustice.”