Abstract
U.S. perinatal morbidity and mortality rates are high and rising and feature sizeable racial and ethnic disparities. One underutilized yet proven approach to improving U.S. perinatal health involves policy reform to more widely use midwifery models of care. Increased access to midwifery care is correlated with improved outcomes for families, including lower rates of interventions, increased rates of vaginal births and breastfeeding, and lower rates of neonatal deaths. Attendees will gain an overview of current U.S. midwifery models of care, philosophy, and outcomes, as well as effective midwifery care models that can improve perinatal health, such as racially and culturally concordant care, team-based case, birth setting integration, and a focus on shared decision-making/patient autonomy. Six barriers to the growth and integration of midwifery care will be reviewed as well as critical health policy strategies to mitigate them.
Notes
References:
Alspaugh, A., Blumenfeld, J., Wright, L. V., Recalde, S., & Lindberg, L. D. (2024). "You and me do it for the love of teaching": Exploring the expansion of clinical training opportunities for midwives. The Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, 38(2), 147–157. https://doi.org/10.1097/JPN.0000000000000815
American College of Nurse-Midwives. Access to Midwifery Care National Chartbook. 2023. https://www.midwife.org/acnm/files/cclibraryfiles/filename/000000009370/Access%20to%20Midwifery%20Care%20National_Chartbook_20241024.pdf
Carlson, N. S., Neal, J. L., Tilden, E. L., Smith, D. C., Breman, R. B., Lowe, N. K., Dietrich, M. S., & Phillippi, J. C. (2019). Influence of midwifery presence in United States centers on labor care and outcomes of low-risk parous women: A Consortium on Safe Labor study. Birth, 46(3), 487–499. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12405
Jeffers, N. K., Canty, L., Drew, M., Grayson, N., Amani, J., Marcelle, E., & Amore, A. D. (2023). Beyond "patient-provider race matching." Black midwives clarify a vision for race-concordant care to achieve equity in Black perinatal health: A commentary on "Do Black birthing persons prefer a Black health care provider during birth? Race concordance in birth". Birth, 50(2), 267–272. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12720
Vedam, S., Stoll, K., MacDorman, M., Declercq, E., Cramer, R., Cheyney, M., Fisher, T., Butt, E., Yang, Y. T., & Powell Kennedy, H. (2018). Mapping integration of midwives across the United States: Impact on access, equity, and outcomes. PloS one, 13(2), e0192523. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0192523
Sigma Membership
Psi at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Workforce, Politics and Advocacy, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Perinatal Morbidity, Perinatal Mortality
Recommended Citation
Bradford, Heather; Tilden, Ellen; Jagger, Jennifer Kaeser; and Solis, Ellen Chaney, "How Can Midwifery Care Decrease Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality and Address Health Inequities?" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 163.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/163
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
How Can Midwifery Care Decrease Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality and Address Health Inequities?
Seattle, Washington, USA
U.S. perinatal morbidity and mortality rates are high and rising and feature sizeable racial and ethnic disparities. One underutilized yet proven approach to improving U.S. perinatal health involves policy reform to more widely use midwifery models of care. Increased access to midwifery care is correlated with improved outcomes for families, including lower rates of interventions, increased rates of vaginal births and breastfeeding, and lower rates of neonatal deaths. Attendees will gain an overview of current U.S. midwifery models of care, philosophy, and outcomes, as well as effective midwifery care models that can improve perinatal health, such as racially and culturally concordant care, team-based case, birth setting integration, and a focus on shared decision-making/patient autonomy. Six barriers to the growth and integration of midwifery care will be reviewed as well as critical health policy strategies to mitigate them.
Description
The U.S. perinatal morbidity and mortality rates are high and worsening. Increased access to midwifery care is correlated with improved perinatal outcomes. U.S. midwifery care is poised to improve perinatal health but has not yet been widely integrated as a care model due to historic and contemporary barriers. Six barriers to the growth and integration of midwifery care will be reviewed as well as critical health policy strategies to mitigate them.