Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access and Choice
2020
This report from the National Academies Press (NAP) examines the variety of settings in which women deliver, the health outcomes associated with each setting, and the necessary steps required for addressing poor health outcomes associated with each. Despite the United States spending more on childbirth than any other country in the world, it has worse birth outcomes than other high-income countries - with a higher frequency of bad outcomes occurring for Black and Native American peoples. Within hospitals, there are increasing efforts to minimize non-medically indicated interventions to improve outcomes, such as preventing unnecessary cesarean sections. Improving outcomes for home and birth center deliveries involve integrating the settings into a regulated maternity and newborn care system. This will allow mothers to receive obstetric care if complications arise during delivery. The report also discusses ways to strengthen the maternal care workforce and to improve access to care and birth settings.
The report is accompanied by a policy brief, an overview of the report, an interactive website presenting the report’s findings, and slides.
Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access and Choice
Source:
Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice. The National Academies Press 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/25636.