Trends in Home Birth Information Seeking in the United States and United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Schmidt, Christina N.; Cornejo, Laeesha N.; Rubashkin, Nicholas

doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.10310

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…While community births have been increasing steadily since 2004, 1,2 the COVID‐19 pandemic brought repeated stories of families choosing to give birth out of hospital in the United States 3,4 and abroad 5,6 . The impetus typically involved fear of entering hospitals dealing with an overflow of COVID‐19 patients, 7 or fears of mistreatment, 8 despite concerns from some physicians about the safety of community birth 9 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

United States community births increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020

MacDorman

Barnard-Mayers

Declercq

2022

Birth

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Background Anecdotal and emerging evidence suggested that the 2020 COVID‐19 pandemic may have influenced women's attitudes toward community birth. Our purpose was to examine trends in community births from 2019 to 2020, and the risk profile of these births. Methods Recently released 2020 birth certificate data were compared with prior years’ data to analyze trends in community births by socio‐demographic and medical characteristics. Results In 2020, there were 71 870 community births in the United States, including 45 646 home births and 21 884 birth center births. Community births increased by 19.5% from 2019 to 2020. Planned home births increased by 23.3%, while birth center births increased by 13.2%. Increases occurred in every US state, and for all racial and ethnic groups, particularly non‐Hispanic Black mothers (29.7%), although not all increases were statistically significant. In 2020, 1 of every 50 births in the United States was a community birth (2.0%). Women with planned home and birth center births were less likely than women with hospital births to have several characteristics associated with poor pregnancy outcomes, including teen births, smoking during pregnancy, obesity, and preterm, low birthweight, and multiple births. More than two‐thirds of planned home births were self‐paid, compared with one‐third of birth center and just 3% of hospital births. Conclusions It is to the great credit of United States midwives working in home and birth center settings that they were able to substantially expand their services during a worldwide pandemic without compromising standards in triaging women to optimal settings for safe birth.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

United States community births increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020

MacDorman

Barnard-Mayers

Declercq

2022

Birth

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“…A qualitative study from Brazil found that professional members of a birth care collective dealt with frustration and had a fear of contamination during the pandemic 31 . In a study from the United States and the United Kingdom, authors looked at trends in birth information and found there was an increased public interest in home birth 32 . The article called for close collaboration between patients and community and home birth settings as patient preferences shift.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…31 In a study from the United States and the United Kingdom, authors looked at trends in birth information and found there was an increased public interest in home birth. 32 The article called for close collaboration between patients and community and home birth settings as patient preferences shift. Another article reported that during the pandemic women were making late pregnancy changes in their birth location to freebirth.…”

Section: Changes In Birth Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes to Birth Plans Due to COVID‐19: A Survey of Utah Midwives and Doulas

Ellis

Ward

Garrett

et al. 2023

J Midwife Womens Health

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Introduction This study seeks to understand the experiences of Utah midwives and doulas caring for patients during the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. Specifically, the goal of the study was to describe the perceived impact on the community birth system and explore differences in the access and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) between in‐ and out‐of‐hospital births. Methods This study used a cross‐sectional, descriptive study design. A 26‐item survey developed by the research team was sent via email to Utah birth workers, including nurse‐midwives, community midwives, and doulas. Quantitative data were collected during December 2020 and January 2021. Descriptive statistics were used in the analysis. Results Of the 409 birth workers who were sent a link to the survey, 120 (30%) responded: 38 (32%) CNMs, 30 (25%) direct‐entry or community midwives, and 52 (43%) doulas. The majority (79%) reported changes to clinical practice during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Community midwives (71%) who responded indicated practice volume increased. Survey participants reported an increased patient preference for home births (53%) and birth center births (43%). Among those with one or more patient transfers to the hospital, 61% experienced a change in the process. One participant reported that it took 43 minutes longer to transfer to the hospital. Community midwives and doulas reported poor access to a regular source of PPE. Discussion Survey participants reported changes to planned birth locations during the COVID‐19 pandemic. When necessary, transfers to hospitals were reported to be slower. Community midwives and doulas reported having insufficient access to PPE and reported limited knowledge about COVID‐19 testing resources and resources for educating patients on COVID‐19. This study adds an important perspective to the existing literature on COVID‐19 by indicating that policymakers should include community birth partners in community planning for natural disasters and future pandemics.

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“…Women's reproductive health is determined to be significantly harmed as a result of impeded reproductive, maternity, and child health care due to human resource constraints, as reported by 66% of nations (45). Disruptions in health services increased demand for home births, either out of fear or insufficient support in institutions (46)(47)(48). Lack of knowledge or information, lack of permission from family or husband to access facility, geographical barrier, lack of understanding of prevention methods, and fear of infection were the top barriers women faced in accessing health care (49).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-Related Challenges and Coping Strategies Among Women During Pandemics: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

Sahay¹,

Dubey²,

Sahoo³

et al. 2022

Front.Health Serv.

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Equality and empowerment for women are among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 5). Although women were confronted with more challenges in various ways during pandemics; however, there is hardly any systematic synthesis of evidence on women's health-related challenges during pandemics. We reviewed the health challenges faced by women during the pandemic. We searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL following PRISMA guidelines. We identified 2,831 studies, of which we included 17. Reproductive health, psychosocial health, and gender-based violence emerged as significant challenges. Many studies reported challenges in provisions for routine services and increased anxiety, fear, and stress among women. The findings highlighted that pandemic have a significant impact on women's health. Women must have equal rights and opportunities without discrimination, which requires urgent action to enhance women's rights and to achieve SDGs. Women engagement/involvement in pandemic-related services needs to be explored, which will aid in developing strategies to alleviate vulnerabilities.

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Trends in Home Birth Information Seeking in the United States and United Kingdom During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 10 publications

References 7 publications

United States community births increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020

United States community births increased by 20% from 2019 to 2020

Changes to Birth Plans Due to COVID‐19: A Survey of Utah Midwives and Doulas

Health-Related Challenges and Coping Strategies Among Women During Pandemics: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies

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