Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson joined forces at Brooklyn Borough Hall on April 3 to announce a milestone development in the Beep’s quest to address the borough’s maternal mortality crisis.
Reynoso’s office partnered with Brooklyn College to develop the Advanced Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH), working alongside Reynoso’s Maternal Health Task Force, the college’s Early Childhood Education/Art Education Department, and the Departments of Psychology and Health and Nutrition Science.
The innovative program — the first of its kind in New York State — is tailored for licensed professionals such as doulas, midwives, OB-GYNs, nurses, mental health counselors, and early intervention and early education professionals to support pregnant mothers and birthing parents experiencing mental health conditions. Brooklyn College will pilot two PMH courses this spring and host its first full cohort in fall 2025.
The credit-bearing, one-year program includes 120 in-person clinical hours and features a flexible, innovative synchronous online format, allowing students to continue their careers while learning.
The maternal mortality rate among Black and Brown mothers in New York City is alarmingly high — Black and Brown women are nine times more likely to die in childbirth than white mothers. While many associate maternal death with causes such as infection, hemorrhaging, embolism, or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, mental health conditions are a frequent underlying cause. In 2021, out of 58 pregnancy-associated deaths in New York City, 21 were attributed to mental health conditions — one suicide and 20 overdoses.
The PMH program aims to address maternal health disparities and improve child health outcomes, particularly in underserved areas of Brooklyn, the borough with the highest maternal death rate in the city.
The initiative includes community engagement, cultural competence, and mental health screenings. Healthcare professionals will be equipped with the tools to identify and implement preventive and intervention strategies for women and pregnant people experiencing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and other forms of emotional distress, as well as the compounded impact of economic disparities and systemic racism.
Reynoso, whose office allocated his FY2023 capital budget of $45 million to create state-of-the-art neonatal units at three public hospitals in Brooklyn and launched initiatives like the Born in Brooklyn Baby Boxes and the Healthy Pregnancy Resource Guide, expressed enthusiasm about taking his mission to make Brooklyn the safest place for pregnant mothers and birthing people to higher learning.
“This program is particularly special to me because we got to do it in partnership with a CUNY School, where this education would be accessible to students from our own communities [and] to students of all backgrounds,” Reynoso said. “New and expecting mothers in Brooklyn deserve culturally competent, high-quality care, and they should be able to access it in their own neighborhoods, from providers who are integrated into the communities they serve.”
Brooklyn College President Michelle Anderson explained that PMH offered a “unique” opportunity to “create meaningful community outcomes.”
“The initiative underscores [Brooklyn College’s] enduring commitment to delivering compassionate, community-centered education and training that enacts positive social change,” she said.
Brooklyn College Associate Professor of Early Childhood/Early Intervention Jacqueline Shannon said the program includes six interdisciplinary perinatal health and mental health courses and aims to recruit and train current and future healthcare and mental health professionals, particularly those from racially and linguistically diverse backgrounds and underserved communities.
“We will incorporate mental health screenings, support, and referrals as standard practice in prenatal and postnatal care, making mental health core components of maternal well-being, rather than a secondary concern, and provide culturally responsive care which recognizes and respects diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and practices of the families they serve,” said Shannon, who spearheaded the program’s development.
Two students participating in the pilot program highlighted its impact on improving maternal and child health outcomes in underserved communities.
Georgina Wodden, a member of the family advisory board and early intervention ambassador with United for Brownsville in Brooklyn, said the coursework sharpened her ability to observe, reflect, and engage families from diverse cultural backgrounds without bias.
“This ensures that every family I work with receives personalized, equitable, and effective support,” Wooden said. ” This education is not just theoretical. It has immediate applications to the work I do every day. It strengthens my ability to advocate for families and pushes for systematic change in maternal perinatal health.”
Keema Wiley, a full-spectrum doula and the lead for the WIC Equity Initiative at United for Brownsville, has a passion for community service that evolved into a commitment to health equity, particularly in maternal and child health. Recognizing the importance of mental well-being during and after pregnancy, Wiley, who also serves as a sergeant in the New York Army National Guard, immediately took the opportunity to enroll in the PMH pilot program.
“These courses are equipping me with critical knowledge to better support both my clients and families I engage with in the WIC Equity Initiative and my doula clients,” Wiley said. “By integrating evidence-based research into my practice, I help parents understand how their lived experiences influence their baby’s health, both during pregnancy and beyond.”
Mental health advocate Christina Sparrock, who serves as the Mental Health Chair and a member of Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s Maternal Health Task Force, emphasized the importance of recognizing mental health conditions as illnesses, comparable to cancer and diabetes.
“This program is vital to teach students about social determinants of health and their impact on new and expecting mothers,” Sparrock said.
