ArticleHealth services research2013
Midwifery care at a freestanding birth center: a safe and effective alternative to conventional maternity care.
Article in Health services research, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effectiveness of midwifery-led care on pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Pooled it
- Perceptions and Expectations of Midwives and Women Regarding Prenatal Care within the Scope of Primary Health Care Services in Türkiye.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2026Article
- The effect of midwifery-led continuum of care to improve maternal and newborn outcomes in the Sidama region, Ethiopia: A non-randomized control trial study.SAGE open medicine · 2025Article
- Low birthweight rate differences associated with distinct perinatal staffing mixes at federally funded health centers.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
- Midwife-Led Versus Obstetrician-Led Perinatal Care for Low-Risk Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of 1.4 Million Pregnancies.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- An alternative model of maternity care for low-risk birth: Maternal and neonatal outcomes utilizing the midwifery-based birth center model.Health services research · 2024Observational
- Scaling the Strong Start Birth Centers: Promoting Equitable Maternity Outcomes.American journal of public health · 2022Article
- Comparison of vaginal birth outcomes in midwifery-led versus physician-led setting: A propensity score-matched analysis.Open medicine (Warsaw, Poland) · 2021Article
- Midwifery and Birth Centers Under State Medicaid Programs: Current Limits to Beneficiary Access to a High-Value Model of Care.The Milbank quarterly · 2020Article
- Strong Start in birth centers: Socio-demographic characteristics, care processes, and outcomes for mothers and newborns.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2019Article
- Use of instrumental variables for endogenous treatment at the provider level.Health economics · 2019Article
- Article
- Preferences for birth center care in the Netherlands: an exploration of ethnic differences.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2017Article
- Is model of care associated with infant birth outcomes among vulnerable women? A scoping review of midwifery-led versus physician-led care.SSM - population health · 2016Article
- Potential Medicaid cost savings from maternity care based at a freestanding birth center.Medicare & medicaid research review · 2014Article
- Race, Medicaid Coverage, and Equity in Maternal Morbidity.Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's HealthArticle
- Freestanding Midwife-Led Units: A Narrative Review.Iranian journal of nursing and midwifery researchReview
- Person-Centered Perinatal Health Care and Empowerment During Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Analysis.Journal of midwifery & women's healthArticle
- Career Pathways and Employment Experiences of Certified Nurse-Midwives Compared With Other Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in the United States.Journal of midwifery & women's healthArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo estimate the effect of a midwifery model of care delivered in a freestanding birth center on maternal and infant outcomes when compared with conventional care. DATA SOURCES/STUDY
settingBirth certificate data for women who gave birth in Washington D.C. and D.C. residents who gave birth in other jurisdictions. STUDY
designUsing propensity score modeling and instrumental variable analysis, we compare maternal and infant outcomes among women who receive prenatal care from birth center midwives and women who receive usual care. We match on observable characteristics available on the birth certificate, and we use distance to the birth center as an instrument. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION
methodsBirth certificate data from 2005 to 2008. PRINCIPAL
findingsWomen who receive birth center care are less likely to have a C-section, more likely to carry to term, and are more likely to deliver on a weekend, suggesting less intervention overall. While less consistent, findings also suggest improved infant outcomes.
conclusionsFor women without medical complications who are able to be served in either setting, our findings suggest that midwife-directed prenatal and labor care results in equal or improved maternal and infant outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.