Brooklyn borough president announces donation of capital funding to fight maternal mortality

The Brooklyn borough president is aiming to lower the maternal mortality rate for women of color.

News 12 Staff

Jul 26, 2022, 9:51 PM

Updated 801 days ago

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The Brooklyn borough president is aiming to lower the maternal mortality rate for women of color.
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso announced he will give the full amount of his 2023 capital funding budget to three public hospitals in Brooklyn.
The $45 million donation will go to Woodhull, Kings County and Coney Island hospitals, with Coney Island receiving the largest amount of funding with $18.5 million to expand and improve their women’s health services department.
“This all started because of four years ago. My wife was having our baby in Woodhull hospital, and one of the midwives asked me if I know that my wife had a 9.4 times higher likelihood to die during childbirth than her white counterpart,” said Reynoso.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, maternal deaths were at 861 for 2020, with 73% of those deaths being women who were Hispanic or Black.
Reynoso also said he will be implementing a new task force to educate women on childbirth and improve women’s hospital departments across Brooklyn.