Weill Cornell Medical College

Maternal death and serious complications, particularly among Black women and birthing people, are among the most persistent racial health disparities.

Primary care offers a critical opportunity to address maternal health disparities and coordinate care before, during, and after pregnancy, but primary care is currently underutilized. In 2025, NYHealth issued an inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), “Primary Care: Advancing Maternal Health Equity Through Primary and Preventive Care,” to support projects that identify disparities in maternal health care and outcomes, use primary and preventive care to reduce those disparities, and measure progress to improve maternal health equity. NYHealth awarded Weill Cornell Medical College (Cornell) a grant to participate in this initiative.

Under this grant, Cornell will collaborate with New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and community partners at Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health to pilot, test, and scale routine prenatal screening for iron deficiency—a key contributor of severe complications like preterm birth and postpartum hemorrhage that disproportionately affects Black and Hispanic women. The project will assess iron deficiency in approximately 4,000 pregnant women during their first visit, strengthen referral pathways between OB-GYN and primary care, and provide patient navigation, counseling, and supportive services to promote adherence to care. Data generated will inform clinical and policy guidelines for routine iron screening in prenatal care, while expansion into family medicine and gynecology practices will address women’s health needs before, during, and after pregnancy.  

See full list of grantees working towards advancing maternal health equity through primary and preventive care.