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Brooklyn Moms Won't Give Birth in Brooklyn Hospitals
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Jun 27, 2010
Modified Jun 27, 2010
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published Jun 27, 2010
Modified Jun 27, 2010
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Sure, moms in the "brownstone belt" might pooh-pooh Manhattan life as too fast, too cramped and not having enough food co-ops, but when it comes time to have their babies they seem to be oddly drawn to the borough. According to New York Times stats, hospitals in neighborhoods like Park Slope, Fort Greene and Cobble Hill have lost patients, while four Manhattan hospitals' birth rates have gone up 31%. The total number of births in the city has gone up just 3% in the last ten years.
A soon to be mom in DUMBO insisted that her preference for Manhattan hospitals just means she doesn't want to label herself. "Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud of living in Brooklyn," said Nicole Reese, who will be having her child at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan. "I do think of myself as living in New York City proper, and I don’t really make a distinction about certain life choices based on whether it’s in my borough or not. Manhattan has some of the best doctors in the country....Why would I not choose them?"
Though births at New York Methodist Hospital in Park Slope have shot up 40% in the past decade, they haven't been coming from Park Slope mothers. The hospital has seen more West Indian, Latina and Haitian mothers from Bed-Stuy, East New York and Crown Heights. They're also attracting some of the borough's more practical parents. Park Slope's Natasha Crewdson-Gleizer was urged by her friends to go to Manhattan hospitals, but she stuck with Methodist, saying, "I had this vision of myself on the Brooklyn Bridge, laboring or giving birth and not being able to get to a hospital on time, and that to me seemed very scary." Besides, staying in Park Slope means you can just walk to the bar with your new baby right afterward!
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Jaya Saxena
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