Transcript: Mayor Adams Hosts “Hear From the Mayor” Radio Show

July 13, 2025

Gary Byrd: Well, each and every Sunday, second Sunday of the month. WBLS is proud to welcome our brother, the 110th mayor of New York City, the second mayor of color and the first hip hop mayor in the city's history. It's time to hear from the mayor, Eric L. Adams, right here from 107.5 WBLS. Mr Mayor, good morning and welcome.

Mayor Eric Adams: Good morning. Good morning, Gary and all those listeners out there. Just an exciting show today I want to go through. But first, if you are a first time tuner in, the show is really hear from you. I'm your mayor, Eric Adams. I want to hear directly from you. Listeners should give me a call and communicate their thoughts and ideas. And if you want to hear from me in other ways, you could visit nyc.gov/hearfromEric. You can also sign up on our website to text with Eric and talk with me on WhatsApp. 

But today you could dial in to 1 (212) 545-1075, (212) 545-1075. I want to dig right into this conversation. I have an amazing guest with me, and she's just doing some great work. Her name is Theresa Lasbrey Peters. She is a doula. When you finish this show, you're not going to say to yourself if you're a male, what is a doula? She's gonna give us all those answers. And I want to be clear to the women out there. I am a member of the “Men Who Gets It Club.” 

I think there's so many things that our mothers, our sisters, our significant others have been silently going through, and we just need to embrace them and lift them up and give them the support that they deserve. And one issue that is crucial is what happens during pregnancy and childbirth. It can be extremely dangerous. This is supposed to be a joyful time for a woman and family. That's when they're expecting a child. But there's a hidden issue that has been ignored. 

Black women are four times likely to die from childbirth related issues than white women. Four times likely. And when I heard this, when I was borough  president, I went on a significant initiative to say we cannot continue to allow that to happen. And this is one of them. 

So in 2022, when I became mayor, we started the first free citywide doula initiative to deal with these issues. And since we've launched, we have given over 3,200 new moms the care they need. And this is huge for our city. It helped them with all of the issues that they can face around child pregnancy. And what I'm really proud about is no pregnancy associated with deaths came out of those over 3,200 women that participated in the doula program. 

And we're increasing the number of doulas, a 25 percent increase in doula coverage for New York City residents. And we're training and it's just like, it's just like one of those feel good programs that we're doing and how we touch everyday people with everyday lives. 

And so I want to turn it over to Theresa, really impressive, really dedicated. She has two beautiful children. That's here in Gracie Mansion today. And you brought your boo with you also. So Theresa, so for those that– let's just start from scratch. You know, I know nothing about a doula. Let's just talk to those who have no idea what a doula is. Can you just like break it down for us?

Theresa Lasbrey Peters: Okay, thanks for having me. A doula is a birth companion that provides support resources and information before, during and after birth. So your doula would prepare you to have the baby. And then when you are having the baby, will provide comfort measures and different things that you would need during the process. And then postpartum would help you in those early weeks to care for the baby and transition from being a pregnant person into becoming a parent.

Mayor Adams: That's that's powerful because you said something before, during and after. Because historically, particularly in underserved communities, there was no just support before telling you about going in for your checkups. 

You know, I remember Jordan, Chris– my son's mother. Um, all of those different moments she had to go in. And I remember during pregnancy, I remember when Jordan was born in a delivery room and then she was experiencing postpartum. And so, you know, everybody was like, you know, hooray, you know, the baby. Oh, he's cute. But then there were moments where she was like, you know, I didn't know who she was. You know, she was just a different person. So what would that doula do during each step?

Lasbrey Peters: So when I first meet a client, I would, you know, just get a sense of what they know about birth, what their goals are, what they hope, what their concerns are. And then once I go through that process of learning about them, then I would begin the process of educating gently, letting them know what their options are and helping them navigate the steps that you go through before you have a baby in preparing at home to speaking with your medical provider and just letting them know that these are your options. 

These are, you know, these are these are the benefits, always look at the benefits, risks, alternatives, you know, your intuition when you're making decisions around giving birth. And then during the birth, I provide comfort. I take away the edge. 

Doulas statistically reduce pain and discomfort by up to 33 percent during birth for people. So we do literally take away the pain. We take pain, the edge off of this process, because you have someone that isn't a stakeholder and, you know, scared, but someone who's really there solely to take care of the client. But also as a doula, I take care of everyone in the room, the partner, the doctors, anybody who walks into that room is somebody that I care for. 

Mayor Adams: Are you in the room? 

Lasbrey Peters: I am in the room for the whole process, however long it takes until you have the baby once I step in.

Mayor Adams: You know, I remember watching a video once when you talk about pain, there was a video of a woman who was who was, could not take anesthesia, could not take any pain, medicine for pain. She had to have a cesarean. But she wants to have a baby so bad that the doctor, I saw this video around about 15 years ago, the doctor showed her how to relax and not even feel the pain while she went through the cesarean. And so the mind has a lot to do with your acknowledgement and feeling of pain. So having someone that trains you on that, and to alleviate 30 percent of that pain, I assume that's extremely significant.

Lasbrey Peters: Yes, yes. So I helped them breathe. I helped them refocus. I helped them change how they look at it. I'm my personal birth experiences. I did not experience it as painful. I did a hypnosis technique called hypno babies. Not everybody does that. But just getting into another zone, and being able to survive the process, you know, like not looking at it [as] it's endless, it will end. And you can do this [with] just encouragement.

Mayor Adams: Love it. Why did you get into this work? What inspired you?

Lasbrey Peters: So my own birthing experiences with my amazing doula, Tiombe Bowman, from my two births with and I got her as my doula through Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership, who I work for now for the citywide doula initiative. So it's just this full circle of receiving and giving back. I had a great experience and I wanted to do what Tiombe did for me for other people.

Mayor Adams: So how would a parent, let's say I'm expecting a child, how would a parent know who they would contact if they want to do it?

Lasbrey Peters: If you want to do it, if you want to do it for the citywide doula initiative, you would go to nyc.gov and you would go and you know, go to the website and look up doula. And then there's all this information about how to sign up one of the doula coordinators from the different organizations based on your zip code based on your income can connect you to a doula. Also in New York State, if you have Medicaid, doula services are available to people who are giving birth who have Medicaid. So you can also look at the doula directory there and find yourself a Medicaid doula.

Mayor Adams: How does one become a doula? And what would you say are the characteristics a person should have to become a doula?

Lasbrey Peters: You go through a training. I was lucky to have Debra Pascali-Bonaro from DONA. That's a major doula training organization [that] trained me courtesy of Northern Manhattan Perinatal Partnership to be a postpartum doula. And then I trained to be a birth doula. You go to a training of about five days. You get this intensive information, historical context [that] comes from measures, everything. You learn all of these things. And then you go and you start attending births. And that's when the real work begins. That's when the real training happens. 

It's like getting a driver's license. You pass the test and then you start to learn how to drive. So the characteristics for people that become doulas are people who want to be of service. Humility is key. None of these births are mine, you know, and none of these births are around my identity and my ego. My births are solely about pouring into the mother, the birthing person who's having this baby and ensuring that trauma is mitigated if not disappeared and so that they can have a great experience during the birth after the birth and in their parenting journey.

Mayor Adams: I love that. Now, after after birth means how long?

Lasbrey Peters: Okay, so, I know she wasn't the first one to say this, but Chanel Porchia-Albert of Ancient Song always says that postpartum is forever. So postpartum, once you have a baby, your postpartum for the rest of your life. But the postpartum period is usually about 1 to 2 years after having a baby. And it's really, it can be a fraught time. 

It can be a dangerous time. That's when most complications show up, right? You know, you can still have preeclampsia postpartum, you can have postpartum depression and anxiety. So postpartum is an important part of the birthing process. And it is a part that we often forget, right? 

We get, we focus on the big show on having the baby, but then we don't focus on the support and the things that mitigate the distress. You know, you just go home with this baby and you don't know what to do and you don't have support or you don't have things in your life that are working. And the great thing about the citywide doula initiative is that as a doula, we provide birth assistance, but we also provide resources and referrals and we have an entire network of people that we can refer our clients to.

Mayor Adams: You know, I was blown away when we're doing some postpartum work as borough president and number of women who came forward and just talked about what it was like, after giving birth, the postpartum is real. And it was, it has often been dismissed when people, when we were talking about it, coming back to work, what do you do and all the things, this program is so significant. Have you seen a difference on the ground?

Lasbrey Peters: Oh, I definitely have. It's just, it's extremely fulfilling. You know, like you men love the Super Bowl, watching a baby come out, that's my Super Bowl like that. I love it. It's exhilarating. And then for the mom to have that experience, the birthing person to just, you know, for me, birth is a victory, but to have people experience the victory of their birth and really look at it like it's a victory, right? So it's incredibly intoxicating. I love to be at births. I love to just help people experience their own power and connection. I love it.

Mayor Adams: I was in the delivery room when Jordan was born and I told the doctor, I wanted to touch his head because I wanted to be the first person to touch him. And it is an exciting moment and opportunity. I met a dad and that's what got me on this journey. A dad who lost his mother, his wife, I'm sorry, his wife, during a pregnancy complication. And this brother was, he was torn. You know, he loved his significant others. He lost her. He had children, had two other children already. And I think sometimes we don't realize the impacts that dads go through when this joyous moment turns into a tragedy of what kind of counseling is for fathers. Are they part of the process?

Lasbrey Peters: They're always part of the process. It's an intricate connection, and the fathers are very much a part of it. They're the support. Really, your experience is somebody who's giving birth is very much connected to your support network, your family. And they make a really huge difference. Fathers have postpartum as well. They experienced postpartum depression and anxiety as well. It's not as acknowledged, but they have to be cared for as well. And it's incredibly devastating to an entire family. If the mom doesn't make it, the impact resonates for generations.

Mayor Adams: So true. So true. We're gonna take a break. And when we come back, we will continue this amazing conversation with Theresa Lasbrey Peters, a doula. You know, so if you're thinking about having children, this is something to look into. You know, you make me so excited, maybe I have another child [inaudible]. We’ll be back. 

Byrd: Indeed. The program is Hear From the Mayor. As someone who delivered one of my own children, I greatly appreciate the conversation. There's more of it coming. It's Hear From the Mayor and equally as important as we say, the mayor wants to hear from you. (212) 545-1075 is the number to call to talk to our mayor and his special guests. That's coming up next from 107.5 WBLS.

[Commercial Break.]

Byrd: The program is Hear From the Mayor, and the mayor wants to hear from you. (212) 545-1075 is the number to call. It's (212) 545-1075. Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, Westchester, wherever you are. Join us right here at 107.5 WBLS. And now back to the mayor and his special guest.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. Thank you, Gary. And for our callers, please feel free to call in. (212) 545-1075. (212) 545-1075. Caller, you're in the air.

Question: Good morning, and thank you for taking my call. I am a midwife of 44 years. I am a former director of midwifery services at a public institution. I think it's really important, Mr. Mayor, that we don't conflate the valuable and important work that doulas do. 

When we look at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the report that they talk about maternal morbidity and mortality, those are really systems issues that have to do with hospitals and how they work and whether there's a good complement of clinicians. 

Doulas really provide a lot of emotional support and information and education. But I don't want the public to think that doulas positively impact whether a woman survives a birth or not, because I don't think that when we review cases, we find that that's the situation. 

So we absolutely honor our doulas because they do wonderful work in terms of providing support and education and information. But when we're talking about maternal death, the number one cause is mental health, suicide and overdose. And those are the issues that we need to work on. Thank you so much for taking my call.

Mayor Adams: Thank you for that. And I remember speaking with Deputy Mayor Williams-Isom. I assume she gave me a report on the postpartum and some of the pregnancy related deaths. And I was really surprised how much was in some of those areas you just mentioned played a role. And so, you know, I always use this analogy. There's many rivers that feed the sea of something. And there are many rivers that feed the sea of maternal deaths, particularly Black and brown women. 

We must dam each with a river, and a doula is a dam in one of those rivers that you just indicated. And we know there are other things, you know, our midwifery is a dam in the river. Our adequate access to health care is dam in the river. And so each river must be dammed so we can stop filling the sea of Black maternal deaths. And they all come together. And we're not going to leave one river flowing. We want to dam each one of them because every child matters. But I thank you for the work you're doing. I thank you for that input. Because we're side by side with what you just said. Caller, you're in the air.

Question: Good morning, Mr. Mayor. My name is Joe Gonzalez and I'm calling from Brooklyn, New York. So the subject that so many people are talking about these days is free buses. And I did research on it and I Googled free public transport. And I learned that as of today, Mr. Mayor, there are 98 cities across the United States and around the world, including in Russia, that have free buses and subways. They shrink the bureaucracy. They save tons of money. And there are multiple ways that they pay for it. 

So in New York City, which you supervise as the mayor, there are over 200 billionaires. Do you believe that perhaps you can call the billionaires in and have them raise the money or engage in other ways of getting the money so there could be free buses and subways in New York City? Thank you and have a good day.

Mayor Adams: Thanks so much. So two things that you pointed out that's important. We did an analysis almost a year and a half ago when the Democratic candidate primary winner wanted free buses. We put it in place with the state and the bill was placed in the budget, which the candidate refused to vote on that. And so the opportunity to get the support from the state, he failed to do so. And when I sat down and spoke with him, I said, listen, I like this idea. Let us assist. And we did just that. But he would not vote on it. And there was some reason it didn't take place, a pilot project. 

But the cost of free buses, when I had my OMB director look at it, it cost three billion dollars, three billion dollars. And in order to get that, his proposal is to tax the 1 percent high income earners. Mayors don't have the authority to do income taxes. Mayors don't. Who has the authority is an assemblyman. He is an assemblyman. If you couldn't get it done in your current role, how are you going to get it done as the mayor? 

And the governor already stated she is not going to do any increase in income tax. California and New York State are the highest income tax. And we're the most taxed state in the entire country. And so ideals really must be aligned with what's real. And so the concept sounds good. We know people are struggling. That's why we have done the reduced fare MetroCard for low income New Yorkers and we've increased the eligibility of it. 

You have to find real solutions to real problems. And, you know, when you look at the fact that we put 30 billion dollars back in the pockets of New Yorkers, everything from excusing medical debt, paying college tuition for foster care children, dropping the cost of child care. And we just got Axe the Tax passed where you saw no income tax for low income New Yorkers. 

So we know folks are struggling, but you can't give people broken promises. I grew up in poverty. I know what it is to get broken promises, and I don't want to give that to New Yorkers. I want to give them real ideas like free doulas, like [decreasing] the cost of income tax on low income New Yorkers and paying for high-speed broadband for NYCHA residents. 

You start adding up what we've done to come to a price tag of 30 billion dollars, real ideas for real problems to give real solutions. Folks, we're out of time. You know, thanks for calling in. And I really want to thank our special guest who's here today. You know, her work speaks volumes whenever you're able to save the lives of young people. Dam one of those rivers. Hooray for that. Theresa, thank you for being here with us this morning. 

Lasbrey Peters: Thank you for having me.

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