Individuals Getting Midwifery Care During Childbirth Report Positive Experiences

According to a new study released in the journal Reproductive Health, giving birth patients report more positive experiences when treated by midwives in hospitals and community settings than by physicians. Additionally, those getting midwifery care at home or birth centers reported much better experiences than those in hospital settings.

Physicians tend to most U.S. births (88%), while midwives participate in 12% of births. Most births happen in the hospital, with under 2% of births taking place in community settings, including homes and freestanding birth centers. Midwives attend the majority of community births.

Quality strategies around maternity care usually concentrate on clinical markers such as complications or rates of C-sections, leaving the lived experience of childbearing people unmeasured and overlooked.

According to the authors, including lead author Mimi Niles, Ph.D., MPH, CNM, assistant professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, midwifery care, unlike the standard obstetrical model, is rooted in a philosophy that honors pregnancy and birth as a physiological, social and cultural process, not exclusively a clinical event. The care partnership between the client and the midwife works as the primary vehicle through which values such as autonomy, respect, and informed decision-making are operationalized to maintain an enjoyable experience of childbearing.

To better comprehend people’s experiences during childbirth, the scientists examined 1,771 responses to the national Giving Voice to Mothers survey examining four domains of the childbirth experience: communication and decision-making autonomy, respect, mistreatment, and time invested during visits. The scientists then examined differences between provider type and birth settings, breaking responses down into those looked after by a midwife at a community birth, a midwife at a hospital birth, and a physician at a hospital birth.

Highlighting midwifery care

Compared to those treated by physicians in hospitals, individuals looked after by midwives in community settings had more than five times the odds of experiencing greater autonomy and were five times more likely to report that their providers showed them high respect. They additionally reported reduced odds of mistreatment.

The scientists likewise found considerable differences across birth settings: patients looked after by midwives at home or birth centers had dramatically better experiences than those in the hospital settings across all four measures-; autonomy, respect, mistreatment, and time spent. For instance, individuals treated by midwives in the community were 14 times more likely to report having enough time in prenatal visits than those treated by physicians, while individuals obtaining midwifery care in hospital settings were almost two times as likely to report having enough time during prenatal visits. Their findings prove that while the midwifery care model supplies enhanced experiences of care, access to midwifery throughout all settings is needed to improve health outcomes for birthing individuals.

Niles and her co-authors write that their discoveries contribute to evidence showing the model itself appears to be strongly influenced by the setting in which care is offered-; with community settings (home and freestanding birth centers) supplying greater chance of support and the hospital settings being limited by the constraints of a medical approach to care which deprioritizes experiential outcomes.

Read the original article on News Medical.

Read more: Midwifery Education in Bangladesh Increased Women’s Access to Safe Childbirth.