NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is drawing attention to maternal mortality, especially among black women.
She is supporting a set of bills calling for more money to help reduce pregnancy-related deaths and eliminate racial bias in maternal care.
Gillibrand said, “When it comes to maternal health and maternal medicine, we must ensure that black mothers have equal access to high-quality care from trusted doctors who not only take their health care concerns seriously but actually act on them."
Mayor Eric Adams also voiced his support for the bills.
"We're not going to ignore it. We're not going to pretend it's okay for babies to die and mothers to die prematurely," Adams said. "We're going to look at periods when that baby Being moved and give the mother emotional support, nutritional support and make sure doctors are listening to their patients."
According to the American Medical Association, black women are three to four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women.