Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Mayor Eric Adams Back Bills Providing More Funding To Improve Maternal Mortality
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is bringing attention to maternal mortality, especially among Black women.
She's backing a set of bills calling for more funding to help reduce pregnancy-related deaths and eliminate racial bias in maternal care.
"When it comes to maternal health and maternal medicine, we must make sure that Black moms can have equal access to high-quality care from trusted doctors who not only take their health care concerns seriously but actually act on them," Gillibrand said.
Mayor Eric Adams also voiced his support for the bills.
"We are not going to ignore this. We're not going to pretend as though it's alright for children to die and mothers to die prematurely," Adams said. "We are going to look at those periods when that child is being carried and give the mother the emotional support, the nutritional support and make sure that doctors are listening to their patients."
According to the American Medical Association, Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.