Committee to advance action steps to combat severe racial disparities and strengthen coordinated, systemic solutions 

City Hall, NY – Today, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams convened the first meeting of the Maternal Health Steering Committee, a group of advocates, medical providers, union leaders, and elected officials, to confront the city’s maternal mortality crisis. The steering committee’s mission is to secure commitments and advance coordinated action steps by stakeholders that combat the severe racial disparities in maternal health, strengthening trust within impacted communities to ensure that mothers receive the care they deserve.    

The formation of the steering committee follows Speaker Adams’ October 2024 emergency speech on maternal mortality, in which she called maternal mortality a public health emergency, elevated the urgency of ending preventable pregnancy-related deaths through coordinated action, and highlighted the racial inequities that fuel the crisis. This work will focus on all the factors that impact maternal health, from discrimination and culturally competent care to assessing the broader determinants of health, including housing, mental health, nutrition, and socioeconomic conditions. While the Council has made addressing maternal health disparities and mortality a top priority, Speaker Adams has emphasized the limitations of lawmaking alone in successfully confronting the crisis.  

Photos from the steering committee meeting can be found here. 

“The maternal health crisis is a public health emergency, and the deaths of mothers are entirely preventable if we act with urgency and marshal the coordinated political will that our communities deserve,” said Speaker Adrienne Adams. “We have the talent, knowledge, and tools to change the trajectory of maternal mortality in our city. This sustained convening of stakeholders will seek to leverage our collective power and resources to confront the longstanding inequities that lead to the horror of maternal mortality. No one should die from preventable causes, and we owe it to our mothers to work together and get this right.”   

The steering committee will hold a series of meetings with advocates, providers, and other members of the healthcare workforce to assess existing maternal health initiatives and produce action steps to combat maternal mortality. The committee will seek to move beyond the current patchwork of solutions by fostering greater coordination, with the goal of all stakeholders collaboratively addressing the root causes of maternal mortality and closing racial disparities in care.  

In New York City, between 50 and 60 women and birthing people lose their life during pregnancy or within one year from the end of pregnancy. Black New Yorkers are six times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes compared to white New Yorkers. These disparities are a product of medical and structural racism that leave Black women, communities of color, and low-income New Yorkers without access to adequate health care and medical treatment, while experiencing stressors that perpetuate severe disparities in health outcomes.   

Members of the New York City Council Maternal Health Steering Committee: 

  • New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams 
  • New York City Council Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala  
  • Office of New York State Governor Kathy Hochul 
  • Office of Interim Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)   
  • Office of President and CEO Dr. Mitchell Katz, NYC Health & Hospitals (H+H)  
  • Dr. Erin Dupree, Senior Vice President, Greater New York Hospitals Association (GNYHA)   
  • Dr. Judith Cutchin, First Vice President, New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) 
  • Anastasia Libovich, Clinical Director, Bronx Health Link 
  • Cheryl Hall, Executive Director, Caribbean Women’s Health Association 
  • Helena Grant, President, New York Midwives 
  • Patricia Loftman, Black, Indigenous, Latinx People of Color Representative, New York Midwives / NYC Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (M3RC) 
  • Shawnee Benton Gibson, LMSW/FLDC, Co-Founder & CEO, Spirit of A Woman (SOW) Leadership Development Institute and Co-Founder of the ARIAH Foundation 
  • Bruce McIntyre, Co-Founder, saveArose Foundation 

“We can no longer normalize the maternal health disparities seen throughout our city,” said Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala. “Addressing inequities requires more than just medical interventions – we must tackle entrenched biases, improve culturally competent care and address social factors that undermine maternal health, like mental health, nutrition, opportunity and access to housing. With the voices of experts and those most affected guiding our work, we will pursue holistic solutions so that every mother, regardless of race, income, or zip code, can get the care that they deserve to keep them safe and healthy.” 

“As New York’s first mom Governor, the maternal and infant mortality crisis is deeply personal to me,” said Governor Kathy Hochul. “Whether through our first-in-the-nation Paid Prenatal Leave program or investments in expanding access to maternal health care services, I’m committed to finding innovative solutions to bring women and families the support they need.”   

“The New York City Health Department has a longstanding commitment to analyzing and addressing persistent inequities in maternal health,” said Dr. Michelle Morse, Interim Commissioner, DOHMH. “Black pregnant people are four times more likely to die of pregnancy-associated causes than their white counterparts due to systemic racism and other forces. We set an ambitious goal in HealthyNYC to reduce Black maternal mortality 10 percent by 2030 and we already know about the interventions that work. I’m grateful to the Speaker for bringing us together and look forward to working with our partners to achieve this important goal together.” 

“Over 16,000 babies are born at NYC Health + Hospitals every year, and we are proud to support these parents through their pregnancy and postpartum care,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and CEO, NYC H+H. “Over the last several years, we have been particularly focused on helping reduce the unacceptable maternal mortality rates among women of color through innovative interventions, including programs that assist pregnant people through all stages of pregnancy and birth, simulation training for staff to ensure our obstetrics experts master skills to respond to uncommon, high risk obstetric emergencies, and social workers and doulas who work one on one with our patients. We look forward to joining Council Speaker Adams’ Maternal Health Steering Committee and supporting the future of maternal care.” 

“As an OB/GYN, quality and patient safety expert, and advocate for ensuring all patients receive the best care, I am honored to serve as a Maternal Health Steering Committee member,” said Dr. Erin Dupree, Senior Vice President, GNYHA. “I thank Speaker Adams and the City Council for convening this committee to address the critically important issue of maternal health. GNYHA and our member hospitals are committed to working with the City, State, and Federal governments, other healthcare providers, community groups and organizations, and others to address disparities in maternal health and improve health outcomes for everyone in New York City.” 

“I am proud to serve on this new steering committee that recognizes that maternal mortality, especially for Black women, is a public health crisis,” said Dr. Judith Cutchin, First Vice President, NYSNA. “Our city’s public hospital system serves predominantly low-income, underinsured and uninsured patients of color, and I see the stark realities of healthcare disparities firsthand. I look forward to working on solutions with this group of partners and advocates who are committed to addressing this crisis in the communities we serve.” 

“The crisis in maternal health, particularly in communities of color, working-class communities, and immigrant communities, demands innovative solutions,” said Anastasia Libovich, Clinical Director, Bronx Health Link. “We must acknowledge and repair the harm caused by systemic failures in Obstetrics and Gynecology through both collective and individual accountability. A Restorative Justice model in medicine—beginning with medical students and residents, and expanding to all clinicians and staff—offers a path forward. The Bronx Health Link is committed to supporting local institutions and organizations advancing these efforts while also leading collaborative initiatives that bring vital resources and transformative education to Bronx families as well as Bronx medical professionals. We recognize the essential role of elected officials and public servants in addressing maternal mortality and morbidity and look forward to working within the NYC Council Maternal Health Steering Committee to drive meaningful change.” 

“I am honored to join this vital committee dedicated to advancing maternal health in New York City,” said Cheryl Hall, Executive Director, Caribbean Women’s Health Association. “Through collaboration and advocacy, we can drive meaningful change and improve health outcomes for women and families across our city.” 

“New York Midwives, the state organization representing the American College of Nurse-Midwives, applauds Speaker Adrienne Adams and the City Council for forming this Maternal Steering Committee, which will dedicate itself to stopping the scourge of preventable maternal death in NYC,” said Helena Grant, President, New York Midwives. “As the President of New York Midwives, I very much look forward to working with other members of this coalition to uplift maternal mortality recommendations that have yet to be put into action, unpack systems that seek to deny principles of birth equity and reproductive justice for Black and Brown women, birthing people and their families, and co-create pathways that finally shift the rising rates of maternal deaths in NYC, which leave children motherless, families eternally grieving and generationally rob communities of future wise women.” 

“‘Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.’ —The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Black and Brown women and birthing people should not die because they choose motherhood,” said Patricia Loftman, New York Midwives / NYC Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (M3RC). “My goal on being a member of The Council’s Maternal Health Steering Committee is to generate actionable policy and solutions to protect Black and Brown women and birthing people from becoming a statistic.” 

“My journey as a reproductive justice advocate and activist began long before my daughter, Shamony Makeba Gibson, died from a preventable birth-related complication,” said Shawnee Benton Gibson, LMSW/FLDC, Co-Founder & CEO, Spirit of A Woman (SOW) Leadership Development Institute and Co-Founder of the ARIAH Foundation. “Her loss did not start my fight—it amplified and synergized my commitment to dismantling systemic inequities and building a future where Black women, birthing people, and families are protected and honored. We must move beyond conversation into collective action—with accountability—so that our efforts are not fragmented but fortified. Breaking down silos is essential to this work and real change requires us to embody the indigenous centered practice of Ubuntu, “I Am Because WE Are”. If we are truly committed to addressing the maternal health crisis in NYC, we must share knowledge, pool resources, and leverage our individual and collective power to transform policies, institutions, and healthcare systems. This is not just about reform—it is about liberation, restoration, and the birth of a future where equitable reproductive and postpartum care is a fundamental human right for all, not a privilege for a few.” 

“I am honored to join the New York City Council’s Maternal Health Steering Committee as it aligns with my mission to continue the fight for equitable, life-saving care for Black/ Brown mothers and families,” said Bruce McIntyre, Co-Founder, saveArose Foundation. “Joining this committee is another step toward making sure no other family suffers the way I did. This work is deeply personal to me, and together, we will turn pain into policy and grief into action that will protect and uplift our communities and create safer birthing outcomes for generations to come.” 

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