By Annette Pinder

According to the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF), “Black women in the U.S. experience unacceptably poor maternal health outcomes, including disproportionately high rates of death related to pregnancy or childbirth. The organization stated in a report that, “Both societal and health system factors contribute to high rates of poor health outcomes and maternal mortality for black women, who are more likely to experience barriers to obtaining quality care, and often face racial discrimination throughout their lives.”

Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death and a preventable maternal death than white women. They are also three times more likely than white women to have fibroids and preeclampsia earlier in pregnancy, and faster body-aging due to chronic stress linked to socioeconomic disadvantage and discrimination over the course of their lives, all contributing to riskier pregnancies.

Recently, Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. (CHCB) and Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center (NFMMC) partnered to address many of these issues with a goal of increasing and improving obstetrical care, pre-natal care, labor and delivery services, postpartum visits, and advanced gynecological services for patients visiting the Women’s Health Clinic at the Community Health Center of Niagara (CHCN), located at 2715 Highland Avenue in Niagara Falls.

Dr. Hannah Bailey, OBGYN at NFMMC, hopes the collaboration will make a difference in the lives of women who need improved healthcare, saying, “Our goals are many, but shifting control to the patient and delivering safe care is paramount.” She explains that NFMMC obstetricians will provide services at CHCN every other Tuesday for a four-hour session that alternates from 8 a.m. to noon, or from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., allowing about 10 patients to be seen during each four-hour session. Each pregnant woman will receive pre-natal care at CHCN for approximately 24-26 weeks before being transferred to NFMMC for the remainder of their pregnancy to enable additional fetal monitoring and ultrasound services.

“We have learned through our work with the Niagara Falls Healthcare Disparities Task Force of the significant disparities among pregnant African American women with lower birth weights, higher rate pre-term births, and lower rates of postpartum visits, as compared to white women,” said Joseph A. Ruffolo, NFMMC’s President & CEO. “Our joint partnership with CHCB will address this disparity head on by providing high quality maternal fetal care in these neighborhoods.”

Dr. LaVonne Ansari, Chief Executive Officer, CHCB, Inc., agrees, saying, “By partnering with NFMMC, we are directly addressing these disparities and removing the obstacle of access to our patients.”

“It is important that all residents in the City of Niagara Falls who are in need of prenatal care and services have access to this care. Through this partnership, these services will now be offered at CHCN in collaboration with NFMMC for those who may otherwise risk going without,” said City of Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino.

Learn more about the CHCN program located at 2715 Highland Avenue in Niagara Falls at https://chcb.net or call 716-986-9199. CHCN accepts all patients regardless of ability to pay.