A community health center in Fordham is getting financial assistance to fight the number of pregnancy-related deaths in New York City.  

This comes as the Commonwealth Fund says that avoidable pregnancy deaths in the United States are higher than in other developed countries.  

A Black maternal mortality task force report from 2021 shows the Bronx’s mortality rate is higher than that of New York state and is substantially worse for Black women.  

Rep. Ritchie Torres gave the Union Community Health Center a check for $675,000 that will go toward the center’s maternal and child care health center. The funds will help deliver a new type of service for women and children in the Bronx who have not had access to comprehensive care. 

Torres says that no mother should die during childbirth, and that there is a moral obligation to deliver the highest level of care for women and children.  

The UCHC says that the center will also be focusing on mental health to aid new mothers who may be dealing with post-partum depression.