How to improve access to midwifery care and prevent perinatal morbidities
Summary
Compared to countries at similar development levels, the United States suffers from far worse perinatal health outcomes at a much greater cost. Increasing the number of maternity care providers, especially midwives, is a proposed solution to improve perinatal health outcomes in the United States. Midwifery-led prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum care is characterized by increased education and support for pregnant and laboring mothers, an emphasis on continuation of care from the prenatal to postpartum periods, and limited use of technology and procedures. Compared with physician-led care, midwives utilize fewer medical interventions during labor and delivery and produce similar or improved perinatal health outcomes, particularly for low-income populations. However, many state-level policies prevent integration of midwives into the existing health system. Increasing access to midwifery care could improve perinatal health in the United States.Specific Aims: The proposed project will (1) evaluate the impact of reimbursement equity between midwives and physicians on the proportion of deliveries conducted by a midwife, (2) assess prevalence of perinatal morbidities in counterfactual scenarios where access to midwifery care is increased by 10%, 20%, and 50%, and (3) estimate prevalence of perinatal morbidities in a hypothetical intervention where all low-risk pregnancies among Medicaid enrollees engage in midwifery-led prenatal care.