The New York City Health Department launched the city’s first-ever Neighborhood Stress-Free Zone (NSFZ) in Brownsville.
The initiative is designed to better support pregnant and postpartum New Yorkers and their families.
Developed in partnership with Brooklyn Perinatal Network and Public Health Solutions, the pilot program is based inside the Brownsville Neighborhood Health Action Center’s Family Wellness Suite.
“Our administration has been laser focused on addressing the historic inequities in maternal health, especially from Black and brown women,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The new space expands access to maternal health education, social support, and connections to mental and behavioral health services for families in the community.
The NSFZ pilot is part of the Health Department’s broader HealthyNYC initiative, an ambitious plan to increase New Yorkers’ life expectancy to 83 years by 2030 and cut maternal deaths by 10%.
The effort takes on new urgency as a recent report from the city’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee shows a troubling rise in pregnancy-associated deaths, up 13.7% from 2021 to 2022, reaching the highest level since 2016.
Black non-Hispanic women accounted for more than 40% of these deaths, despite representing less than one-fifth of live births. The leading cause was mental health conditions, followed by cardiovascular disease.
The Brownsville pilot aims to change that narrative by providing stigma-free, community-based access to care and social services. The program focuses on reducing stress, addressing chronic conditions and supporting families through pregnancy and early parenthood, particularly in neighborhoods that have experienced generations of disinvestment.
Brownsville, long identified as one of the city’s highest-risk areas for pregnancy-related deaths, will serve as the first site for this place-based model.
Starting Oct. 1, Brooklyn Perinatal Network will officially partner with the Health Department to provide on-site screenings for health-related social needs and connect families to housing, nutrition, plus transportation support. The Family Wellness Suite will also offer stress-reduction services such as perinatal massage and yoga, along with workshops on perinatal mental health, gestational diabetes, hypertension, lactation and nutrition.
“Brownsville, Brooklyn—which has experienced decades of disinvestment, redlining, and unfair barriers to care—has the highest pregnancy-associated mortality rate in New York City,” said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse.
