New York state is working to get ahead of pregnancy-related challenges and deaths through the latest state budget.
According to a NYS Department of Health report from 2018 to 2020 on pregnancy-associated deaths, 31.3 percent of them were pregnancy-related.One of the first ways these outcomes will be addressed is by offering 20 hours of extra paid sick leave for prenatal care, which would make New York the first state in the nation to do so.
"Even if it’s just for short visits or you have to get in for telemed, or you have to talk to your doctor on the phone, if you just need those little times and spaces to be able to do this and you’re having to take off time to do that, that’s time that you’re losing money, you’re losing dollars, and that’s going to impact your bottom line," she said.
Mental health was considered one of a few leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths, according to the report from 2018 to 2020.