Expectant mothers are more likely to die giving birth in the Bronx than in any other New York City borough, with maternal mortality rates twice as high for Black mothers compared to white mothers, according to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Over 71% of mothers who died during childbirth in the Bronx were Black and Hispanic, according to a 2021 Health Department report. The most preventable cause of these maternal deaths is discrimination during hospital care.
Black and Hispanic expectant mothers repeatedly report not being listened to or taken seriously by their doctors during hospital visits. Amber Rose Isaac told her gynecologist she was having trouble breathing and experiencing other symptoms. When bloodwork was finally conducted, she died a day later during an emergency C-section at Montefiore Einstein.
Evelyn Alvarez, founder of BX Rebirth, a coalition of doulas and lactation counselors, explained the depth of the problem: “There’s a bias against people because they’re a certain col
or, because they don’t have any money. There’s an infantilization that happens during labor where people feel like they aren’t heard.”
Regarding prenatal care quality for women in the Bronx, Alvarez said, “If it rains on other people, it snows on us.”
Bronx residents face systemic challenges including poverty, limited access to healthy food and prenatal education. The Bronx has the highest number of low-risk pregnant mothers who still ended up requiring cesarean sections—over 30%.
Brittney Russell, who made the film “You Are Not Alone” documenting these disparities, captured the reality: “We’re not being properly treated. A lot of women in the Bronx are in survival mode.”
See: “OUR FORGOTTEN BOROUGH | Why it is more risky for a Bronx mom to have a baby” (February 5, 2026)
