There is nothing quite like the feeling of holding your baby for the first time. It is a moment that so many new parents cherish and wait eagerly for. Unfortunately, for some parents, this moment comes with high levels of stress and complications. It could be that the baby arrives early, or the pregnant parent experiences complications.
Whatever the case, we know that not all pregnancies have the same risk and happy outcomes. In fact, studies in New York City have found that Black women are four times more likely to die of a pregnancy-associated cause, such as pregnancy complications, and six times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related cause, such as postpartum suicide or overdose, than white, non-Hispanic women. That is unacceptable in 2025, especially in New York City with the best health care and doctors in the world.
While every experience is unique, every parent deserves to be heard, safe, and well-cared for. That is why, among the very first programs we announced when our administration came into office was the Citywide Doula Initiative that would support women who are disproportionately at risk of pregnancy complications and the New Family Home Visits Initiative that ensures new parents get the lasting help they need to raise their families from the earliest moments.
As early as the spring of 2022, our administration invested in a Citywide Doula Initiative with the goal of bringing more support to expectant parents to combat the unacceptable trend of maternal mortality. In three years, this program has made major strides. To date, the City Doula Initiative has assisted more than 3,200 families across the five boroughs, exceeding its goal of serving 1,000 individuals who give birth per year, having reached 1,128 new clients in 2024 alone.
Many families served by the program come from Black and Brown communities across the city, with 61% of clients self-identified as Black and 44% identified as Hispanic in 2024. What is more, there have been no maternal deaths for program participants as mothers’ lives are being saved — a major indicator that what we are doing is succeeding. Further, this program helped to contribute to a 25% increase in doula access across the city between 2022 and 2024.
This initiative is just one part of our broader commitment to make New York City the best place to raise a family. Our administration has invested $34 million in a New Family Home Visits Initiative where nurses and social workers support families with a newborn that has already connected more than 23,000 families to home-visiting programs, including doula support.
The program also works with 10 hospitals across the city, helping educate the health care community about the role of doulas, distributing other critical information such as the Hospital Doula-Friendliness Guidebook, and building relationships with individuals and communities to further support new and expectant families.
All of these important initiatives are part of our landmark “HealthyNYC” campaign, which aims to increase life expectancy for New Yorkers to 83 years by 2030, with the specific goal of reducing Black maternal mortality in New York City by 10% by 2030.
Our investments over the last few years have shown promise, with better birthing outcomes, stronger partnerships, and healthier families. We will continue to work every day to bring the supportive infrastructure the city has to offer to each child and family that calls New York City home.
Ultimately, a safe and complication-free childbirth is what every New Yorker deserves. Discrepancies in outcome based on the color of your skin or where you live are not acceptable.
We are committed to doing everything in our power to minimize the impacts of federal cuts on New Yorkers, and while we cannot completely fill the gap, we are working with state partners to minimize the harm and investing in programs like these that will serve our most vulnerable.
We want all New Yorkers to be able to thrive in the greatest city in the world, and that means providing support for our mothers, caring for our newborns, and helping achieve our administration’s mission of making New York City the best place to raise a family.
Miles-Gustave is New York City’s deputy mayor for health and human services.
