Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39791332›Full record

ArticleJournal of midwifery & women's health

Financial Barriers to Expanded Birth Center Access in New Jersey: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis.

Rebecca H Ofrane, Slawa Rokicki, Leslie Kantor, Julie Blumenfeld

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of midwifery & women's health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rebecca H OfraneDepartment of Public Health, Montclair State University, College for Community Health, Montclair, New Jersey.ORCID 0000-0003-1602-3824
Slawa RokickiRutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Leslie KantorRutgers University School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey.
Julie BlumenfeldRutgers University School of Nursing, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Funding

American Association of Birth Centers Foundation 2022 Research Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionBirth centers are an underused care setting with potential to improve birth experience and satisfaction. Both hospital-based and freestanding birth centers operate with the midwifery model of care that focuses on safe, low-intervention physiologic birth experiences for healthy, low-risk pregnant people. However, financial barriers limit freestanding birth center sustainability and accessibility in New Jersey, especially for traditionally marginalized populations. This qualitative study explores the financial barriers faced by freestanding birth centers in order to expand access and choice for pregnant people in New Jersey.

methodsSemistructured interviews were conducted with participants from 4 sectors: (1) birth center or health system, (2) policy-adjacent philanthropy or research, (3) state departments, and (4) health insurance. Coding and analysis followed a reflexive thematic analysis process, resulting in the identification of 4 financial barriers to birth center access.

resultsFacility Medicaid reimbursement rates are a primary barrier for birth centers, along with startup and operating costs and, more indirectly, low supply of midwives and low patient demand for birth center care. DISCUSSION: New Jersey is well-positioned to enact critical policies and programs that can improve out-of-hospital birth center access, based on the findings and recommendations from this research. Other states can follow suit in pursuit of solutions to improve maternal health access and equitable birth center sustainability.

Indexed as

Birthing CentersHealth Services AccessibilityMaternal Health ServicesFemaleHumansInsurance, HealthInterviews as TopicMedicaidMidwiferyNew JerseyPregnancyQualitative ResearchUnited Statesbirth centersbirth equitycommunity birthMedicaid reimbursementmidwifery workforce

Identifiers

PMID39791332
PMCPMC12172606

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.