America Has A Birthing Problem—Let’s Make Maternal Care More Accessible
Why is it so expensive to give birth in America? In a word: supply.
There’s a severe shortage of maternity wards across large swaths of the country. Today, more than one-third of U.S. counties lack a single hospital maternity unit or obstetric provider. Not coincidentally, America suffers a troublingly high maternal mortality rate.
America needs to deliver better results for our mothers and children. Fortunately, a solution is in plain sight: let urgent care clinics and ambulatory surgical centers open freestanding maternal birthing centers. This baby step would expand access to safe maternal care, lower healthcare costs and improve outcomes — all without sacrificing patient safety.
Birthing centers provide a proven model of quality healthcare. These freestanding facilities, staffed by midwives and physicians, specialize in low-risk childbirth outside the traditional hospital setting. Women who deliver their children at birth centers experience lower rates of medical interventions and have robust health outcomes. Healthy, low-risk women who deliver at birthing centers have comparable outcomes to those who deliver in hospitals and have almost no mortality risk.
Despite the clear benefits of freestanding maternal birthing centers, they face serious regulatory burdens that make it difficult for them to operate. While states vary in their regulatory regimes, most are limited in the medical services they can provide and may be prohibited from performing even the most basic surgical interventions on-site. These restrictions often force maternal birthing centers to transfer patients to distant hospitals when emergencies arise — or if no hospital is in reach, not to open at all.
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