Factors Associated With Interest in Birth Center Care for a Future Pregnancy: A Secondary Analysis of the Listening to Mothers in California Survey
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Understanding future demand for midwifery-led birth centers is critical to increasing utilization of this high-value model of care. This study examines factors associated with interest in birth center care for a future pregnancy. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Listening to Mothers in California survey. The study included 1447 people who had a singleton hospital birth in 2016 and did not have a history of cesarean birth. Multivariate logistic regression models were conducted with variables that were aligned with the Coxon model of birth setting decision-making. RESULTS: More than half of respondents (n = 789; 54.5%) expressed interest in receiving care at a birth center in the future. Respondents were more likely to express interest in birth center care if they had experienced pressure to have an obstetric intervention (AOR 1.86, 95% CI = 1.83-1.90) or believed that birth is a natural process that should not be interfered with unless medically necessary (AOR 1.74, 95% CI = 1.71-1.78), compared to respondents who did not. They were also more likely to have sought information about hospital cesarean rates (AOR 1.50, 95% CI = 1.47-1.52), had a doula in labor (AOR 1.42, 95% CI = 1.39-1.45), and experienced mistreatment (AOR 1.23, 95% CI = 1.21-1.26). CONCLUSIONS: Broadening access to midwifery-led birth centers to accommodate future demand is needed. Providing pregnant people with comparable quality measures of birth center and hospital care may facilitate informed decision-making. Improving the shared decision-making abilities of healthcare providers could help prevent instances of mistreatment or undue pressure on pregnant individuals to undergo obstetrical interventions.
Source: Birth
DOI: 10.1111/birt.70038
Authors: Erin K. George, Joyce K. Edmonds
Language: English
Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4416596276