Haven Midwifery Birthing Center

Help us establish the first free-standing, not-for-profit birth center run and led my midwives in NYC, Haven Midwifery Birthing Center (HMBC)


Our desire and resolve to overcome the staggering disparities in maternal mortality rates have never been stronger—we need your help!

Founded by a group of four highly experienced, licensed midwives, HMBC will employ evidence-based methods, guided by our collective years of experience. We will offer high-quality, hands-on, personalized services, from contraception and prenatal care to birth services and postpartum care—and beyond by becoming a true community-based healthcare center. Our goals are to provide the highest level of midwifery care and to address the current, maternal mortality rates in New York State.

Your contribution will help us secure a location, sign a lease, and renovate—we are currently in negotiations with a site!

  
The dismal facts:

·       In 2018, the rate of severe maternal morbidity for Black women was 447 per 10,000 deliveries—2.3 times higher than among white women. The rate for Hispanic women was approximately 1.7 times, and for Asian women was approximately 1.5 times, higher than the rate for white women.

·       In 2018, rates of complications were more than 3.5 times higher in New York City, the region with the highest rate (324 per 10,000 deliveries)—compared with the region with the lowest rate, the Finger Lakes (90 per 10,000 deliveries).

·       For every maternal death, up to 100 women will experience a potentially life-threatening condition during or after childbirth.
https://nyshealthfoundation.org/resource/complications-of-childbirth-racial-ethnic-disparities-in-severe-maternal-morbidity-in-new-york-state/?utm_source=SMM+report+Aug+2020&utm_campaign=SMM+report+Aug+2020&utm_medium=email

·       New York State holds an average cesarean rate of 34.6% with the highest rate at 53.5%. This gives NY the 11th highest cesarean birth rate in the United States. (https://profiles.health.ny.gov/measures/all_state/16575)

·       The US is the only developed nation where maternal mortality rates are steadily increasing (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2020/202001_MMR.htm; https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/index.htm)

 
The benefits of the high-quality midwifery care we will provide:

Care provided by licensed midwives working within a birth center model has been shown to have excellent outcomes in safety and satisfaction. Midwife services include annual gynecological exams, family planning, and preconception care, prenatal care, labor and delivery support, newborn care, and menopausal management. Midwives also provide reproductive education in fertility, nutrition, exercise, contraception, pregnancy health, breast/chest feeding, and quality infant care. HMBC will be a Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) site and offer primary healthcare services to the LGBTQIA+ community.

Your support will make a significant difference in the lives of New York City residents!

Help us reach our fundraising goal to open NYC's first not-for-profit, midwifery-led, free-standing birthing center. 

 

We sincerely thank you for your support,

The Haven Midwifery Birthing Center Team