Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams will introduce a package of legislation today aimed at supporting maternal health and wellness and particularly targeted at reducing Black maternal mortality and pervasive maternal health disparities. This legislation includes measures for both during and post-pregnancy, and is a model for ways in which local legislatures can combat maternal mortalities and maternal health inequities and injustices. It also includes a resolution calling for further federal action and funding.
"Black maternal mortality and morbidity is a health crisis, one that is inexcusably under-acknowledged and tragically under-addressed. The challenges and inequities of maternal health persist throughout and post-pregnancy, and we must address it at all stages, " said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. "On a federal level, we need aggressive funding and research to combat this disparity and save lives - but localities can lead the way. Through the creation of a maternal health bill of rights with dedicated and sustained outreach to inform people of those rights, we can help ensure that rights are respected, requests heard, and resources granted. And when someone is ready to return to work, we need to make that pathway clear and minimize barriers to reentry. These bills are common sense, and their impact could be lifesaving."
The first bill, Intro 2370, establishes a maternal health bill of rights, and provides that pregnant individuals are informed of those rights. It would require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), together with the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, and community organizations, to create a public education campaign in facilities that provide obstetric and gynecological care informing patients about the City Standards for Respectful Care at Birth, the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, and health care proxy forms. The legislation would also require DOHMH to inform patients about the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace, and New York's paid family leave program through promotional materials at their locations. Information is essential to body autonomy and empowering people to seek the care they deserve, and being informed of ones' rights gives power to pregnant individuals as patients and as employees.
Intro 2369 is aimed at addressing inequities and issues that primarily arise post-pregnancy, related to re-entry in the workplace. It would require employers to hold an onboarding meeting to discuss an employee's reintegration back into the workplace after parental leave, under guidance from the NYC Commission on Human Rights. The employer would hold this meeting with every employee who returns from parental leave within two weeks of their return, with the goal of improving the reintegration process for the employer and employee. Employees returning from parental or medical leave are often disadvantaged upon their return to work, lacking critical information about changes to the workplace or projects that have occurred while they were away. This bill would help correct that information gap.
The maternal health legislative package also includes a resolution calling on Congress to pass and the President to sign the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021. The federal legislation would provide grant funding for maternal health research, fund community based organizations focused on Black maternal health, and invest in a wide range of tools to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly in underserved areas and among marginalized groups. The Act also would also ensure continuity of health insurance coverage for the duration of labor, delivery, and postpartum care.
Maternal health is an issue of racial inequity. In New York City, Black women are 8 to 12 times more likely to die during childbirth than their white counterparts. This is often rooted in medical personnel overlooking, minimizing or dismissing health concerns of Black patients. Action on these issues is decades overdue, and while the current administration has taken some steps to address this inequity, maternal mortality and morbidity remains a problem - especially for Black women and pregnant persons.
"It is clear that the systems in place are failing pregnant people of more color - a failure as staggering as it is inexcusable," added Public Advocate Williams. "The pain of Black women like Sha-Asia Washington or Amber Rose Isaac is less likely to be believed, more likely to be dismissed, and far too often ignored by providers and politicians alike."
The ongoing tragedy of Black maternal mortality and health inequities has been repeatedly realized in New York City. In July of 2020 a 26 year old woman, Sha-Asia Washington, lost her life when she suffered cardiac arrest after her doctors induced labor. Just three months earlier, Amber Rose Isaac died during an emergency C-section.
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