ArticleThe American journal of managed care2014
Potential benefits of increased access to doula support during childbirth.
Article in The American journal of managed care, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Doula Support During Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Postpartum: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obstetrics and gynecology · 2026Pooled it
- Doula Care and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2026Pooled it
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Doula-Home-Visiting Services: Impact on Maternal and Infant Health.Maternal and child health journal · 2018Trial
- Views of healthcare providers on the provision of continuous care during labour by maternity care assistants in the Netherlands: a qualitative study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Doula services for Medicaid beneficiaries in Virginia: access, utilization, and policy lessons.Health affairs scholar · 2026Article
- Using RE-AIM and CFIR to develop a subsidized doula program for at-risk underserved pregnant mothers.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cesarean Birth Trends in the United States.JAMA network open · 2025Observational
- Exploring the Role of Doulas in Supporting People With Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders.International journal of childbirth · 2025Article
- Severe Maternal Morbidity and Other Perinatal Complications Among Black, Hispanic, and White Birthing Persons With and Without Physical Disabilities.Journal of women's health (2002) · 2025Article
- Article
- Article
- Impact of Presence of Doulas on Perceived Racism for Black Mothers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.PRiMER (Leawood, Kan.) · 2025Article
- "I Live in a Doula Desert": A Community-Engaged Study of Doula Care in Rural Georgia.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Exploring the Experiences of Community-Based Doulas That Serve Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Clients in Arkansas.Women's reproductive health (Philadelphia, Pa.) · 2025Article
- The system can change: a feasibility study of a doula-clinician collaborative at a large tertiary hospital in the United States.Implementation science communications · 2024Article
- Trends in Severe Maternal Morbidity, Obstetric Comorbidities, and Birth Complications in Illinois.O&G open · 2024Article
- Role of Doulas in Improving Maternal Health and Health Equity Among Medicaid Enrollees, 2014‒2023.American journal of public health · 2024Observational
- Partner and social support in childbearing and rearing in a Gulf Coast Native American community.Family relations · 2024Article
- What Do Community Doulas Think About the Future of the Doula Workforce?Maternal and child health journal · 2024Article
- Collaborative Training as a Conduit to Build Knowledge in Black Birth Workers.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesThe annual costs of US maternity-related hospitalizations exceed $27 billion. Continuous labor support from a trained doula is associated with improved outcomes and potential cost savings. This study aimed to document the relationship between doula support, desire for doula support, and cesarean delivery, distinguishing cesarean deliveries without a definitive medical indication. STUDY
designRetrospective analysis of a nationally representative survey of women who delivered a singleton baby in a US hospital in 2011- 2012 (N = 2400).
methodsMultivariable logistic regression analysis of characteristics associated with doula support and desire for doula support; similar models examine the relationship between doula support, desire for doula support, and 1) any cesarean or 2) nonindicated cesarean.
resultsSix percent of women reported doula care during childbirth. Characteristics associated with desiring but not having doula support were black race (vs white; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.77; 95% CI,1.03-3.03), and publicly insured or uninsured (vs privately insured; AOR = 1.83, CI, 1.17-2.85; AOR = 2.01, CI, 1.07-3.77, respectively). Doula-supported women had lower odds of cesarean compared without doula support and those who desired but did not have doula support (AOR = 0.41, CI, 0.18-0.96; and AOR = 0.31, CI, 0.13-0.74). The odds of nonindicated cesarean were 80-90% lower among doula-supported women (AOR= 0.17, CI, 0.07-0.39; and AOR= 0.11, CI, 0.03-0.36).
conclusionsWomen with doula support have lower odds of nonindicated cesareans than those who did not have a doula as well as those who desired but did not have doula support. Increasing awareness of doula care and access to support from a doula may facilitate decreases in nonindicated cesarean rates.
Indexed as
Identifiers
25295797PMC5538578What 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.