Swaddling her newborn son against her chest, Randalle Lewis recounted her terrifying ordeal after being diagnosed with a subchorionic hematoma in the third trimester of her first pregnancy in 2019.

Heavy bleeding prompted Lewis, 37, of Wheatley Heights, to seek care at a hospital emergency room. There, a swarm of health care workers peppered her with questions, dismissing her concerns as they began preparing for an emergency cesarean section.

Lewis, who is the advocacy and coalition manager at the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island and is Black, counts herself lucky that she had a network of family, friends and connections that ultimately spared her from the risky procedure and she had a natural birth instead.

The traumatic experience is what led Lewis to opt for a midwife and doul

See Full Page