More Information

“Every childbearing person has the right to learn about all options for perinatal care provider and birth setting. To ensure an informed decision about their preferred birth plan, information should be provided either preconceptionally or in early pregnancy. Personal preferences and risk status should be considered in decision-making. Numbers of births in birth centers have doubled over past decade to almost 20,000 births per year. The evidence shows that childbearing people who participate in birth center care, even if they have only birth center prenatal care, experience better outcomes including lower rates of preterm birth, low birth weight births, and cesarean birth, and higher rates of breastfeeding when compared to people with similar risk profiles who receive typical perinatal care.”

Continue Reading Article

“The intrapartum period is a crucial time in the continuum of pregnancy and parenting. Events during this time are shaped by individuals’ unique sociocultural and health characteristics and by their healthcare providers, practice protocols, and the physical environment in which care is delivered. Childbearing people in the United States have less opportunity for midwifery care than in other high-income countries. In the United States, there are 4 midwives for every 1000 live births, whereas, in most other high-income countries, there are between 30 and 70 midwives. Furthermore, these countries have lower maternal and neonatal mortality rates and have consistently lower costs of care. National and international evidences consistently report that births attended by midwives have fewer interventions, cesarean deliveries, preterm births, inductions of labor, and more vaginal births after cesarean delivery. In addition, midwifery care is consistently associated with respectful care and high patient satisfaction. Midwife-physician collaboration exists along a continuum, including births attended independently by midwives, births managed in consultation with a physician, and births attended primarily by a physician with a midwife acting as consultant on the normal aspects of care. This expert review defined midwifery care and provided an overview of midwifery in the United States with an emphasis on the intrapartum setting. Health outcomes associated with midwifery care, specific models of intrapartum care, and workforce issues have been presented within national and international contexts. Recommendations that align with the integration of midwifery have been suggested to improve national outcomes and reduce pregnancy-related disparities.” Continue Reading Article

“Continuation of delivery care by a midwife, and establishing a relationship between the midwife and the delivering woman, is so important for women, and preserving such relationship increases woman’s calmness and self-confidence. The current research aims at studying the effect of midwifery continuing care during delivery on delivery outcomes.”

Cont Reading Article