Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, along with his newly minted Maternal Health Taskforce, has announced the latest in a series of investments to "make Brooklyn the safest place to have a baby.”
The latest investment: A new $250,000 multicultural multimedia campaign, spearheaded by Reynoso. The multimedia campaign includes an online resource guide with information on nutritional education, an emotional wellness plan, legal rights to access health insurance, midwifery support and doula services in the state.
One-third of New York City's pregnancy-related deaths are Brooklyn residents. The ratio on average is 9.4 times higher for birthing people of color compared to their white counterparts, and Haitian women account for most of the cases.
“We will make Brooklyn the safest place to have a baby and we will use every tactic to reach that goal from strategic investments, partnerships and education that will empower our pregnant Brooklynites to advocate for the safe confidential care they need and deserve,” Reynoso said.
The campaign includes English, Spanish and Haitian Kreyol ads at select Brooklyn bus stops, urban panels at subway stations and digital ads on various social media platforms that lead people to the online guide.
Bus shelters and subway station ads will be located primarily where the rates of maternal mortality and morbidity have been reported including areas of Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, Bushwick and Canarsie. More than 50,000 pamphlets will be distributed across health spaces throughout the borough.
New mom Reina Rickards, one of the faces of the campaign, told BK Reader about her pregnancy and birthing journey using Maternal Health Services.
“I was fortunate to have a healthy and easy pregnancy due to the help of my doulas who empowered me and advocated for the care I deserve," Rickards said.
“These services shouldn’t be a secret and we shouldn't have to rely on luck just to safely give birth and take our healthy babies home.”
“It’s very easy to make that announcement from City Hall where people aren’t having babies, but we’re doing this in Brooklyn in the communities where people need it the most which is very valuable and intentional,” District 34 Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez said.
Helena Grant, director of midwifery at Woodhull Hospital has a special connection to the campaign: She personally delivered one of Reynoso’s children.
“There should be no pregnant person who doesn’t have the three S’s: a birth that is safe, satisfying and sacred,” Grant said.
“This information campaign is about the preset that knowledge is power; when we give this knowledge to those who are open and willing to receive, we can expand what they know about pregnancy care and access.”
To learn more about Reynoso's campaign and Maternal Health Taskforce resources, visit the website.
