Doula Care, Birth Outcomes, and Costs Among Medicaid Beneficiaries

Bibliographic Data

ID11036722
AuthorsKaty B Kozhimannil (0000-0002-5734-9049, O'Brien Institute), Rachel R Hardeman (0000-0003-3913-5933, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Rachel R. Hardeman, Laura B. Attanasio, and Cori Blauer-Peterson are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, and Michelle O’Brien is with the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Michelle O’Brien is also a family physician in private practice.), Laura B Attanasio (0000-0001-9294-0718, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Rachel R. Hardeman, Laura B. Attanasio, and Cori Blauer-Peterson are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, and Michelle O’Brien is with the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Michelle O’Brien is also a family physician in private practice.), Cori Blauer-Peterson (Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Rachel R. Hardeman, Laura B. Attanasio, and Cori Blauer-Peterson are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, and Michelle O’Brien is with the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Michelle O’Brien is also a family physician in private practice.), Cori Blauer‐Peterson (O'Brien Institute), Michelle O’brien (0000-0002-5283-5400, Katy Backes Kozhimannil, Rachel R. Hardeman, Laura B. Attanasio, and Cori Blauer-Peterson are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, and Michelle O’Brien is with the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Michelle O’Brien is also a family physician in private practice.)
Year2013
Volume103
Issue4
Pagese113-e121
Publication date2013-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2012.301201
PMID23409910
PMCIDPMC3617571
OpenAlexW1996817626
LanguageEN
Citations received49
References cited31

Objectives. We compared childbirth-related outcomes for Medicaid recipients who received prenatal education and childbirth support from trained doulas with outcomes from a national sample of similar women and estimated potential cost savings. Methods. We calculated descriptive statistics for Medicaid-funded births nationally (from the 2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample; n = 279 008) and births supported by doula care (n = 1079) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2010 to 2012; used multivariate regression to estimate impacts of doula care; and modeled potential cost savings associated with reductions in cesarean delivery for doula-supported births. Results. The cesarean rate was 22.3% among doula-supported births and 31.5% among Medicaid beneficiaries nationally. The corresponding preterm birth rates were 6.1% and 7.3%, respectively. After control for clinical and sociodemographic factors, odds of cesarean delivery were 40.9% lower for doula-supported births (adjusted odds ratio = 0.59; P Conclusions. State Medicaid programs should consider offering coverage for birth doulas to realize potential cost savings associated with reduced cesarean rates

Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Medicaid · Political science · Demography · Gestational Diabetes Research and Management · Global Maternal and Child Health · Maternal and Perinatal Health Interventions · Medicine

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