ALBANY, N.Y. (September 23, 2024) Distributed NYC Newswire – State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald addressed maternal and infant health today at the Maimonides Health Maternal and Neonatal Morbidity Reduction Symposium in Brooklyn. The symposium included a day of seminars from distinguished health officials on several maternal and infant health topics, such as birth equity, decreasing maternal morbidity, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and nutrition.
“Health disparities have caused devastating harm to people who give birth and infants, and that is unacceptable,” State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “I’m grateful to have been involved in open and honest discussions about these issues, it’s another step in empowering communities, improving health outcomes and eliminating health disparities. I thank Maimonides Health for hosting such an important forum and for all their exceptional work to improve infant and maternal health across the State.”
Maimonides is one of the state’s 17 Regional Perinatal Centers, which provide the highest level of perinatal care and operate NICUs. Maimonides Health also offers a free doula program and midwifery program, which improve outcomes and maternal experience.
“Maimonides Health has a deep commitment to every member of our community, and that includes every mother and child,” Maimonides Health President and CEO Ken Gibbs said. “We have long invested in providing services during the crucial time between pregnancy and toddlerhood and have worked with the New York State Department of Health and community-based organizations to address racial disparities in birth outcomes. While we have made progress, there is still a great deal of work to be done.”
“We appreciate the opportunity to speak about the important work of the State Perinatal Quality Collaborative at this event, specifically focused on birth equity and improving outcomes and the experience of care for Black birthing people,” Marilyn Kacica, Medical Director for the Division of Family Health, and Executive Director of the New York State Perinatal Quality Collaborative (NYSPQC) said.
In New York State, Black people who give birth are five times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White people who give birth. Most pregnancy-related deaths are preventable.
The infant mortality rate in NYS declined 12%, from 4.36 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016 to 3.85 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019, but disparities still exist. In 2019, the infant mortality rate for Black non-Hispanic infants was 2.8 times higher than that of White non-Hispanic infants and 2.5 times higher than Hispanic infants. Black non-Hispanic infants were 2.6 times more likely to die compared to White non-Hispanic infants in Upstate New York and 3.2 times as likely to die in Downstate New York. During both the neonatal (first month of life) and post-neonatal (one month through one year of life) periods, non-Hispanic Black infants were more likely to die compared to other racial/ethnic groups.
New York State has recently implemented several initiatives to improve maternal and infant health outcomes among New Yorkers including the following:
- Extended Medicaid coverage through the postpartum period to 12 months following the end of pregnancy to ensure continued access to care.
- Provided incentive payments to hospitals and community-based providers to improve maternal care and outcomes.
- Increased Medicaid reimbursement rates for midwifery services.
- Expanded Medicaid coverage for the maternal population to includes nutrition counseling services, community health workers services, and enhanced remote monitoring services.
- Supported access to doula services by maintaining a directory of doulas enrolled to provide covered services to Medicaid members. As of March 1, 2024, New York State Medicaid covers doula services for pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people.
- Issued a statewide standing order that all New Yorkers who are pregnant, birthing, or postpartum would benefit from receiving doula services. This order is another step in expanding access to doula care and fulfills a requirement for Medicaid to provide reimbursements for these services.
