According to the New York State Department of Health, there is a maternal mortality gap of roughly 3-to-1 between women of color and white women — and that gap transcends income.

At Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, new mom Kyra-Lynn Santana is participating in a Maternal Outcome Navigation Program designed to address those disparities.

“Some places are just straight-up racist,” Santana said, describing a previous experience involving complications with a blood transfusion during labor.

State data shows that for every white woman who dies from pregnancy-related causes, multiple women of color lose their lives. Health leaders say the difference is not biological — but systemic.

Regina Ryan, a nurse navigator at Northwell Health, tracks pregnant women of color from their first visit through delivery to ensure their concerns are heard and addressed.

Dr. Marin Skariah, director of Maternal Child Health and Pediatrics at Phelps, says staff undergo implicit bias training and work to understand cultural differences in care.

A study published through the National Library of Medicine highlights a “failure to rescue” pattern — when life-saving interventions, like blood transfusions, are delayed or overlooked.

For Santana, being heard made the difference.

“Everyone was very open,” she said. “We had a great lactationist.”