NYC Health + Hospitals System's simulation lab fights more than life-threatening childbirth situations

Officials say the simulation lab in all of the NYC Health + Hospitals tackles it all from preparing staff to treat and handle the worst-case scenarios both common and uncommon.

News 12 Staff

Mar 26, 2022, 2:39 AM

Updated 931 days ago

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A simulation lab that's part of the NYC Health + Hospitals System aims to not only treat life-threatening childbirth situations but also help structural racism in medical spaces.
Advocates have been rallying for birthing justice, fighting maternal mortality especially for Black and brown women.
Officials say the simulation lab in all of the NYC Health + Hospitals tackles it all from preparing staff to treat and handle the worst-case scenarios both common and uncommon.
"We simulate a variety of emergency topics such as maternal hemorrhage, leading cause of maternal mortality in NYC, we do difficult births where the baby is delivered but the shoulder gets stuck behind the pelvic bone, and has a very high rate of morbidity in baby and mom," says Dr. Sepideh Mehri, an OBGYN, for NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue.
The simulation also tackles implicit bias and structural racism that can hinder proper care and treatment. It is part of the city's mission to improve pregnancy outcomes, especially for women of color.
According to reports from the city Health Department, Black women are 12 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes.
Dr. Mehri says the simulation is going to be a game changer for the city.
Simulation lab team members go around to different hospitals to conduct training and say care is improving.