Brooklyn obstetrician of Anguillan and Haitian heritage traces career to family roots
Dr Rachel Webster, who works at Maimonides Health's new Adult and Pediatric Care Center, says childhood summers in Anguilla shaped her focus on maternal care.
NEW YORK, United States. Dr Rachel Webster, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Maimonides Health, says her Caribbean family background set her on the path to a career in medicine.
Webster works at the hospital's new Adult and Pediatric Care Center at 6323 Seventh Avenue in Brooklyn, which opened on August 10. The centre offers adult and paediatric primary care, nutrition counselling and, soon, neurology services, as well as women's healthcare through its Women's Health Services Hub.
Her mother, Marjorie, is the daughter of Haitian immigrants, and her father, Ellis, grew up in Anguilla. She describes them as the greatest influence on her career.
"They met in medical school in the States and became a pediatrician (mom) and an ENT (dad), practicing in underserved areas in South Florida," she said. When she went to college, her father expanded his practice to Anguilla, hosting community health fairs and providing specialist care for patients across the Caribbean.
Summers in Anguilla
Webster spent childhood summers in Anguilla, staying on land shared by her father and his six siblings, swimming, reading on the beach and exploring with her cousins.
As she grew older she worked in her father's ear, nose and throat practice, registering patients and assisting with procedures. Her favourite part, she said, was watching the relationship between her father and his patients, who were often relatives and neighbours.
"Through my family in Anguilla, I learned about different healthcare systems and the implications of limited access to subspecialty care," she said.
She said that after her aunt died in childbirth from eclamptic seizures, many relatives travelled abroad for obstetric care, particularly if they had risk factors such as preeclampsia or fibroids.
Those experiences, she said, motivated her to build a strong foundation in high-risk obstetrics while focusing on patient safety and better systems for maternal care.
From Columbia to Brooklyn
Webster moved to New York to study medicine at Columbia University, where her early clinical work included volunteering at a clinic within a syringe exchange and providing street-based care in Washington Heights. She also found mentors through the Black and Latino Student Organization.
She completed her residency at Thomas Jefferson University. Her daughter, Josephine, was born last autumn, which she said deepened her appreciation of the work done by obstetricians.
"It is important to me to create an environment where my patients feel comfortable sharing the details of their reproductive health so that I can empower them to reach their reproductive goals," she said.
