Paying for maternity care

The costs of prenatal care and the delivery of newborns are continuously increasing. In the 3 years since 1982 alone, the cost of a hospital delivery has increased approximately 40%. 40% of all births in the US are to women aged 18-24. These women compose the highest risk group for having complications of pregnancy. It is alarming that in 1984 more than 25% of these women had no form of insurance to cover the costs. Poor, minority, and unemployed women are most likely to lack coverage. The 3 basic types of coverage are individual or direct, employer's or indirect, and federal. Direct insurance is not always affordable and often provides incomplete coverage. Employer's insurance is often able to cover the costs of maternity care for many young women. However, a high rate of job turnover and the loss of a husband due to death or divorce excludes teenagers, widows, and divorcees from maintaining this type of indirect insurance. Federal insurance in the form of Medicaid has strict eligibility requirements. In nearly 1/2 the states one must be below the poverty level in order to be eligible, and the benefits vary among the states. In addition, many practitioners will not accept Medicaid as payment. The Aid to Families With Dependent Children is available in lieu of Medicaid, but only to single mothers who already have dependent children. The Maternal Child Health block grant is designed to equalize the differences in Medicaid eligibility among states and to give coverage to poor women who are ineligible for Medicaid. The individual states are allowed to allot the monies for this grant without qualifications for minimum services, with the result that it is unknown which women receive necessary services.     

Decentralization of maternity care

One of the main reasons for the high maternal mortality rates in developing countries is the need to transfer patients long distances to city hospitals when they develop complications. Local obstetric facilities would relieve this situation.     

Medicaid expenditures for maternity and newborn care in America

An Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) survey of the Medicaid programs in each state and the District of Columbia found that some 542,000 low-income women have a Medicaid-subsidized delivery each year--about 15 percent of all women who give birth. The proportion ranges from three percent in Alaska to 25 percent in Michigan. The federal and state governments spend almost $1.2 billion annually for maternity care (including prenatal, postpartum and newborn care); the average expenditure per patient is $2,200. Tennessee reports the highest expenditure per patient ($3,500) and Louisiana the lowest ($1,300). Only the highest payments under Medicaid are close to charges for maternity care in the open market, a fact that results in a significant disincentive for physicians and hospitals to accept Medicaid patients. The $1.2 billion spent for Medicaid-subsidized maternity care compares with an estimated $11.5 billion spent for such care nationwide. Thus, Medicaid pays for about 10 percent of the nation's maternity care bill, although Medicaid subsidizes deliveries for 15 percent of all women who give birth. The figures for maternity care do not include Medicaid expenditures for neonatal intensive care, which, for the 17 states reporting data, average about $11,800 per infant. Although only about six percent of all newborns whose deliveries are subsidized by Medicaid require neonatal intensive care, such care is so expensive that it adds about 30 percent to all Medicaid expenditures for maternity care. Increased Medicaid payments for maternity care, including prenatal care, could have a positive impact on health outcomes for low-income mothers and their babies, and could reduce the necessity for massive and expensive medical treatment for newborns.     

Low birthweight and the risk for mental retardation later in childhood

Summary. Data from the population-based Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study were used in a case-control study to assess the association between low birthweight and mental retardation (intelligence quotient ≤70) among 10-year-old children who were born in 1975 or 1976. Children with mental retardation were identified from existing records at multiple sources and control children were selected from public school rosters. Data on birthweight and other covariates (sex, birth order, maternal age, maternal race, maternal education and gestational age) came from birth certificates. We used multiple logistic regression modelling to obtain adjusted odds ratios for mental retardation, with normal birthweight children (those weighing ≥2500g) as the referent group. For low birthweight children as a whole, the odds ratio for mental retardation was 2.8 (95% CI 1.9-4.2). The risk was higher for very low birthweight (<1500 g) children than for moderately low birthweight (1500–2499 g) children, and higher for severe mental retardation (intelligence quotient <50) than for mild mental retardation (intelligence quotient 50–70). Adding gestational age to the models revealed that normal birthweight children who were born preterm also were at increased risk of having mental retardation at age 10 years.     

Predictors of choice of public and private maternity care among nulliparous women in Ireland,and implications for maternity care and birth experience

Maternity care in Ireland is provided through a mixture of free public and fee-based private or semi-private services. We examined factors associated with choice of care pathway among nulliparous women and how this influences the care they receive and their experience of childbirth using data from a prospective cohort study. Complete data were available for 1,789 women on choice of care pathway and birth outcomes, and for 1,336 women on birth experience. Maternal age (marginal effect [ME] 1.6 percentage points [ppts], p < 0.01), socioeconomic status (ME 0.5ppts, p < 0.01) and being born in Ireland (ME 10.3ppts, p < 0.01) were all positively associated with choosing private care, but level of risk in early pregnancy did not influence this decision. Intervention rates in public and semi-private care were comparable, but women in private care were more likely to receive epidural anaesthesia (odds ratio [OR] 1.65, p < 0.01) and give birth by caesarean section (ratio of relative risks [RRR] 1.98, p < 0.01). Private care was also associated with longer hospital stays (28 % longer, p < 0.01). Increased risk was negatively correlated with birth experience in public and semi-private care, but not in private care. Policies promoting the allocation of maternity care resources by level of risk, along with the standardisation of clinical practice across care pathways, could reduce rates of obstetric intervention and address risk-based disparities in birth experience outcomes.     

Continuity of care in maternity services--the implications for midwives

Examines issues raised by Changing Childbirth. Summarizes an IMS/RCM report and is based on research in maternity units at different stages in the adoption of various approaches to developing continuity of care. It is concerned with the effect on midwives' working lives and explores issues of grading, responsibility, working hours, career progression and job satisfaction.     

Developing supplemental activities for primary health care maternity services

Supplemental health care activities are described in the context of the augmented product. The potential benefits of supplemental services to recipients and provider are discussed. The author describes a study that was the basis for (re)developing a supplemental maternity service. The implementation of the results in terms of changes in the marketing mix of this supplemental program is discussed. The effects of the marketing mix changes on program participation are presented.     

An evaluation of family-centered maternity care

The effectiveness of a family-centered maternity program in promoting a positive feeling toward the infant and in preparing the mothers for their new role was evaluated. Seventy-three married primiparous women completed measures of anxiety and depression as well as a series of questionnaires relating to their attitudes toward pregnancy, the baby, and the hospital experience. Statistical analyses revealed that the women in the family-centered maternity program, when compared with those in the traditional program, had a more positive attitude toward their babies while in the hospital. In addition, they reported having received more experience in caring for their babies and more help from the hospital personnel in preparing for the mothering role.