Mayor Eric Adams Backs Bills Providing More Funding To Improve Maternal Mortality

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Mayor Eric Adams is backing a set of bills that would provide more funding to reduce maternal mortality.

The rate of pregnancy-related deaths is especially high among Black women.

“We are not going to ignore this. We’re not going to pretend as though it’s alright for children to die and mothers to die prematurely,” Adams said. “We are going to look at those periods when that child is being carried and give the mother the emotional support, the nutritional support and make sure that doctors are listening to their patients.”

READ MORE: New Push To Take On Maternal Health Inequities: ‘It’s Time To Put An End To The Maternal Health Crisis’

According to the American Medical Association, Black women are three to four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.