Three Bronx hospitals are among the first in New York City to receive certification for making their maternity care more welcoming to doulas, as the city expands access to community-based birth support amid persistent disparities in maternal and infant health.
Montefiore Medical Center, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi have completed the city’s Doula-Friendly Hospital Program, becoming three of six hospitals citywide to receive the program’s first certificates, according to the Mayor’s Office.
St. Barnabas Hospital is also participating in the program and is among the hospitals working toward completion.
The expansion comes as the Bronx continues to face some of the city’s starkest maternal and infant health disparities. The borough has the city’s highest infant mortality rate and highest rate of preterm births, with Black and Hispanic women facing disproportionately worse outcomes.
As demand for doula care rises nationwide, access remains uneven across the city. In 2025, fewer than 6% of live births in the Bronx involved doula support, compared with nearly 64% in Brooklyn, according to city data.
Doulas are trained to provide physical, emotional and informational support before, during and after childbirth. The city says their involvement can help improve birth outcomes, including by reducing cesarean births, preterm births and low birth weights, as well as postpartum depression.
The need for improved maternity care in the Bronx has also been underscored by the death of Bronx resident Amber Rose Isaac, who died in childbirth in 2020 after raising concerns about her care at Montefiore Medical Center. Shortly before her death, Isaac tweeted about what she described as “incompetent doctors” who had not listened to her concerns, according to her partner.
The announcement comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that more than 4,200 people have received doula care through the Citywide Doula Initiative since it launched in 2022.
“This milestone speaks to the power of one of our City’s most successful programs: the Citywide Doula Initiative, which has already supported thousands of families, including in communities that have been too often left behind by our health care system,” Mamdani said.
The new hospital program is intended to make doulas a more integrated part of the maternity care team by strengthening communication between doulas and medical providers and encouraging hospitals to adopt policies that allow doulas to better support their clients.
The initiative provides free, nonmedical support to income-eligible pregnant New Yorkers, with a particular focus on communities that have experienced health and socioeconomic inequities.
Beginning in 2027, MetroPlusHealth, the city’s low-cost insurance plan, will add doula coverage to its Gold Plan for New York City employees and their families. The benefit will cover up to eight prenatal or postpartum visits, as well as one in-person labor and delivery support visit per pregnancy.
“4,000 people served is only the beginning. We are expanding access through our public hospitals and to City employees because every New Yorker deserves support to bring a child into this world safely and with care,” he added.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, who has been sounding the alarm about the maternal health crisis in the borough, said expanding access to doulas could help address disparities that have affected Bronx families for years.
“Our doulas provide an invaluable service to our communities by ensuring mothers and birthing people receive comprehensive, personalized care before, during, and after childbirth,” Gibson said.
“By expanding access to doulas across the city, we are ensuring families receive the necessary birthing services to improve health outcomes, particularly in neighborhoods where parents and children have been the most affected by years of medical neglect, systemic inequities, and high rates of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity.”
The city said referrals from the six hospitals that completed the Doula-Friendly Hospital Program have increased sixfold. The hospitals made 100 referrals to doulas between 2019 and 2021, compared with 603 between 2023 and 2025.
“The data is clear: expanding access to doula care leads to healthier outcomes, particularly for Black and Latino families, and a more equitable healthcare system,” said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin.
Reach Marina Samuel at msamuel@schnepsmedia.com. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
