South Brooklyn Health launches maternity health plan, with upgrades to maternity units

August 26, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CONEY ISLAND/SOUTHERN BROOKLYN — COMPREHENSIVE WOMEN AND MATERNITY HEALTH CARE IN SOUTHERN BROOKLYN will get an overhaul, thanks to $18.5 allocated from Borough President Antonio Reynoso. NYC Health + Hospitals/South Brooklyn Health, particularly at the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospital on Monday, Aug. 26, launched its plan to create a comprehensive women’s health service on its campus. The capital funding will enable the progression of services — from outpatient care to labor and delivery to post-partum recovery — to be brought together, to ensure care continuity and safety. The plan includes the upgrade of patient rooms and ancillary space to enhance total family care. The neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and nursery will be redesigned to accommodate the needs of families to reflect the hospital’s Baby-Friendly designation. Reynoso had, during his campaign for this office, highlighted the gross inequity of Black pregnant women in New York City being eight-times more likely to die of pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts and pledged to make Brooklyn the safest borough in which to give birth. Over the last several years, births at South Brooklyn Health have increased 30%.

Southern Brooklyn sees even greater risks to safe pregnancy than other parts of Brooklyn. More than half the patients are African American or Hispanic, and nearly 70% of these patients have pre-existing conditions such as hypertension or diabetes, which can place a pregnant person and her baby in danger.

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