When I first came across the statistics for maternal mortality rates in New York, I was stunned. For a state often regarded as a leader in progressive policies and public health, the numbers are embarrassing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), maternal deaths in New York have increased by 33% between 2018 and 2021. There are also signs of systemic racism that are hidden among these statistics. Black women living in New York are over four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women. To make matters worse, almost 80% of these deaths are preventable, as reported by the State Department of Health. These numbers aren’t just statistics, but rather they should serve as a warning for everyone to reflect and fight against the failures within New York that have detrimental consequences for families. Notably, this crisis isn’t only limited to New York. America has the highest rate of maternal deaths of any wealthy nation for childbirth, and New York ranked 23rd in the nation for infant mortality.
But why is that? New York’s short-term disability system hasn’t changed since 1989, offering new mothers a maximum weekly benefit of just $170 while they recover from childbirth. This does not account for inflation or the rising cost of living. To put this into perspective, a partner who takes leave under the state’s Paid Family Leave program can receive up to $1,177 per week to bond with the new child or care for the recovering mother. Meanwhile, the mother herself, who may be recovering from birth surgery like a C-section, which accounts for about 32% of deliveries, receives a benefit so low it’s virtually impossible to live on. Such disparity forces thousands of new mothers each year to make an impossible choice: either push themselves to return to work before they’ve fully recovered or risk being in financial trouble. For many, there is no real choice at all. Rent needs to be paid, groceries need to be bought, all while childcare costs linger over their head, even when they’re recovering from childbirth. Additionally, we must also consider the broader economic risks of failing to address paid leave inequities. Without any adequate time to recover, mothers who return to their jobs prematurely may potentially have long-term health issues that will negatively affect their productivity. This can increase turnover and absenteeism for employers that will essentially affect everyone involved.
When new mothers experience stress and financial strain after giving birth, it can take a serious toll on not only the mother but also lead to poor maternal and infant health. Being forced to return to work before fully recovering increases the risk of complications for the mother and deprives the infant of important bonding time, which have been proven to be necessary for the child’s child’s social and cognitive development. This issue is especially concerning for Black mothers, who are more likely to be single parents than mothers of other racial and ethnic groups. Consequently, growing up in a single-parent household where the mother is forced to spend the entire day working can increase the child’s chances of engaging in delinquent behavior.
The state has made some progress to address this problem. In January, a new law will go into effect that offers an additional 20 hours of paid parental leave, allowing pregnant women more time for medical appointments without using their sick days. Additionally, recent legislation has expanded Medicaid coverage to include maternal telemedicine services and increased the transparency of information provided by healthcare facilities to pregnant women. These are important steps that deserve recognition, but these measures are not enough. There had been a proposal in last year’s Executive Budget to improve short-term disability benefits by matching it with the more generous Paid Family Leave benefits, but this measure was ultimately not included in the final budget. However, this proposal had a blueprint for how to implement these changes in a way by slowly incorporating it over the span of several years so businesses and employees have time to adjust for such chances. Now that we’re getting another chance, we have to advocate for this proposal to be included in this year’s Executive Budget.
If we look at California’s Disability Insurance (DI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL), they’ve made a significant improvement for 2025 in offering financial aid to pregnant women and their families. California’s DI program provides partial wage to individuals unable to work due to pregnancy, childbirth, or other medical conditions. Meanwhile, the PFL program allows workers to receive partial income while bonding with a new child or caring for a seriously ill family member. Starting in 2025, benefit rates for these programs will increase to 70-90% of weekly wages, depending on income levels, which especially be beneficial to lower-income families to have generous financial support during the period before and after pregnancy.
California has already made the decision to support future families. Now, it’s time for New York to follow. We need to create a system that supports all families, especially those who need it the most. After all, being a new mother is already stressful enough; we don’t need to add anymore stress.
As a mom who had an emergency C-section in Brooklyn last year, I can relate to this article. $170/week is insulting. Thank you for shedding light on this
I’m 7 months pregnant and terrified. I’ve been saving for months just to afford not working for a couple weeks after birth.
or sure if NY could support us a bit more it would lower our stress by a lot but you’ll be fine! Just focus about taking care of your future baby 🙂
I’m a Black single mom and everything in this article is true. It’s harder when people judge you for struggling when you’re doing your absolute best to SURVIVE
Sending love!!!
The fact that a partner can get over $1,000 a week to bond, while the mother doesn’t get anywhere close to that for her to heal from surgery, is crazyyyy. New York needs to reevaluate its priorities
Love the comparison to California. It shows that this isn’t just impossible for us to do. There are certain things we should follow from other cities
YES! as a city we should be looking to find the good things about other cities and incorporate it
This is applicable to life in general. Learn from others
This article needs to be shared everywhere. The maternal stress and outcomes for kids, especially for single Black families, is upsetting. That’s why people judge us when it’s actually out of our control
HOW HAS NY DISABILITY SUPPORT NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE 1980S?? DO THEY NOT ACCOUNT FOR INFLATION WHAT
That surprised me too because everything went up by soooo much
If California can do 70–90% of weekly wages in 2025, why is NY still stuck in 1989??????
also New York ranked 23rd for infant mortality is crazy, I would’ve thought it be closer to 40s
ALSO 80% of maternal deaths are preventable. NEGLIGENCE NEGLIGENCE NEGLIGENCE
this is heartbreaking to read. such a high number
I know of a friend who recently had a baby daughter and she went back to work the next day after giving birth. Crazy world we live in
is she okay?????? I can’t imagine ever doing something like that
Her family is living in poverty so she kinda has to. I heard that she is still recovering but luckily her employers are letting her do the easier stuff
awesome to hear but it sucks how we have to take things into our own hands when things like this should be the city responsibility
When I had postpartum depression, the stress of finances made it sooo much worse
This is also why people with financial struggles are more likely to have mental health issues
Money is at the basis of many things because we need it to afford treatment food and p much all the necessities in life
This sucks because things that are needed for us to survive like a place to live are scarce… like how are we suppose to survive in the cold.
Paid family leave for the partner but not for the mother recovering from surgery is one of the dumbest policies I’ve ever heard of
They should both get it but the mother shouldn’t just get lower because she’s recovering
I had no idea the numbers were this bad in New York… yikes
Where do you live?
Recently moved to California but used to live in Florida
I’m currently pregnant and terrified of how I’ll manage after birth. This article is too real.
My sister almost died from complications because she felt pressured to go back to work early. Please tell your friend to take it easy.
I feel absolutely terrible for any family who has to go through this… the stress of having a newborn is enough already I can’t even imagine what it’s like to worry about money on top of all of this
Thinking the exact same thing. Like be so fr when there’s so much on our plate ESPECIALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SINGLE MOTHERS OUT THERE
Dang I didn’t even think about single moms I wish them the best of luck
Dang cali is mad generous with the pay 70 to 90 percent is wild good for them
and NYC still stuck in the 80s for this CRAZYYY