New Space for Women's Health

New Space for Women's Health
Formation	2003
Location	New York, NY
Executive Director	Rebecca Hankin Benhiat
Website	newspacenyc.org

The New Space for Women’s Health, a project of the Friends of the Birth Center, is building an independent women's health and birth center in midtown Manhattan in early 2010 to provide an alternative center for women to receive health care and give birth in a respectful, attentive and private environment^[1].

History

The Friends of the Birth Center began with a group of midwives, nurses, families and other supporters that gathered in 2003 after the closing of the Elizabeth-Seton Childbearing Center, which was based in St. Vincent's Hospital. Skyrocketing malpractice insurance forced the center to close its doors with little warning to the staff and to the devastation of the community.^[2] Since its closure, Manhattan has been left without a birth center, a truly ironic tragedy since Manhattan was the home of first birth center in the United States, the Childbearing Center opened by the Maternity Center Association in 1975.^[3] The Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center opened in St. Vincent's after the Childbearing Center closed in 1996.

The New Space for Women's Health is no longer a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in New York City, its doors were closed in February 2010.

Philosophy

The foundation of the New Space's philosophy, the Midwives Model of Care, is based on the premise that when fully informed, women should be trusted to make responsible choices about their health. According to the "About us"(Broken Link) section of their website:

All women and their newborn babies deserve the best, and we are designing a center specifically to meet the needs of women and their families. The New Space for Women’s Health will be a powerful catalyst for improving the quality of health care for all women in New York City. We are giving the choice back to women in a time when families are being restricted in their decisions in how they can have their children. We avoid the routine use of tests, procedures, drugs, and restrictions, and give evidence-based care solely in the interest of mothers and infants, not at the convenience of the provider.

"The American healthcare system is increasingly dependent upon medical interventions to address what is, most often, a normal and safe physiological process," says Rebecca Benghiat, executive director of the New Space for Women’s Health. "Women are demanding a change and corporations are looking for a more financially viable model. The New Space is both of those, safe and empowering and economically feasible."^[4]

Plan for the Birth Center

These plans have been canceled in light of the fact that NSWH closed its doors in February 2010.

Friends and Supporters

Board of Directors

• Élan V. McAllister, President
• Kathryn O'Neal-Dunham, Vice-President, Governance
• Jessica E. Smith, Vice-President, Fundraising
• Maria Freytsis, Secretary
• Andrew Coon, Treasurer
• Ricki Lake
• Stacey J. Rees
• Erica Reid
• Corina Wolfer

Staff

• Rebecca Hankin Benghiat, Executive Director
• Malorie Ferrick, Administrative Associate

Professional team

• Cicero Consulting Associates
• Fried and Kowigos Partners, LLP (Broken Link)
• Leibowitz Communications
• Perkins + Will
• Proskauer Rose LLP
• Strategic Management Consulting

External links

• New Space for Women's Health official website [1]
• The Business of Being Born website [2]
• ABC News: Trying to take back childbirth, 07/28/08 [3]
• NY1 Health: C-Section rates continue to climb across city, 08/06/08 [4] (Broken Link)
• CSR Wire: C-Section rates up across NYC, 08/06/08 [5]
• Time Magazine: Giving Birth at Home, 08/07/08 [6]

References

1. ^ "New Space for Women's Health Website". New Space for Women's Health. http://www.newspacenyc.org. 
2. ^ "Consumers and Malpractice: Elizabeth Seton Birth Center Closing (paid article)". Crain's New York Business. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb5254/is_200309/ai_n20229511. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "History of the Childbirth Connection (formerly the Maternity Center Association)". Childbirth Connection. http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10076&ClickedLink=0&area=3. 
4. ^ "C-section rates up across NYC". CSR Wire. http://www.csrwire.com/News/12798.html.