Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson is rallying the community, demanding the establishment of a birthing center in the Bronx to tackle a stark maternal health crisis disproportionately impacting pregnant Black and Latina women. In a rally held in Norwood, Gibson highlighted the urgent necessity of such a facility, pointing to troubling statistics: "We have the graphs, we have the data, we have the statistics, and we know that Black women are 9.2 times more likely to die during childbirth because of pregnancy-related complications," as she reported during her address, according to CBS News New York.
At the event, Gibson underscored the envisioned birthing center's role in offering comprehensive prenatal care, including the services of midwives, doulas, and physicians attuned to the cultural, emotional, and medical needs of women. According to a CBS News New York report, these centers can deliver care at significantly lower costs than hospitals. Bruce McIntyre III, who lost his partner to childbirth complications in 2020, shared his harrowing experience at the rally. He recalled, "It took a midwife to, to look over her records to tell us that she was dying versus, you know, the multiple physicians that were signing off on her paperwork while she was dying. They were acting like everything was okay, which ultimately led to my partner's death during delivery."
Further compounding the urgency of this initiative is a report from the borough president's office, which revealed that women in the Bronx face a higher severe maternal morbidity rate than their counterparts in New York's other four boroughs. McIntyre emphasized the hindsight regret of not having such a center sooner, stating, "A birthing center was definitely needed. I know that if we had a birthing center available to us, I feel like she would still be here for sure," he told the rally attendants, as noted by CBS News New York.
Apart from the maternal health crisis, Gibson is also addressing gender-based and domestic violence in the borough. In a report by NY1, Gibson recognized ongoing collaborations with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark and organizations such as Safe Horizons to support victims. She also discussed the Future Forward Bronx initiative, part of a broader economic development plan fueled by state funding to reduce the borough's 6.8% unemployment rate—the highest in New York State.
.jpg){kind=link}