This quarter has been full of a lot of exciting activities, including the celebration of Midwifery Week from October 3-9. This year’s theme, “Midwives for Every Community,” speaks to the work of our Maternal and Child Health portfolio to improve birthing outcomes of Black and Brown people. We believe that those seeking maternity services in Louisiana deserve equitable, accessible, and quality healthcare, and that birthing families should have access to a diverse group of qualified birthing professionals—including Obstetricians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Doulas and Midwives. We’re thankful for the outstanding Midwives in our New Orleans community, and throughout Louisiana, as they combine compassion, shared decision-making and collaboration in their work.

Did you have an out-of-hospital birth? Have you wanted to have an out-of-hospital birth?

In our MCH department we recently kicked off one of our newest research projects to study out-of-hospital births. This work is an extension of the My Body, My Voice, My Birth, My Support research we conducted last year where we held a series of in depth interviews and focus groups with providers (OB, nurses and midwives) and families that have experience with breastfeeding, experience with the NICU, or that had childbirth complications.

During the pandemic, our local and national partners have reported an increased demand for out-of-hospital births. This has led us to expand our research to learn about the successes and barriers of those who birthed at home during this time. This year, a quantitative arm was added to our research, and it aims to provide a more in depth analysis of out-of-hospital births. We’re currently looking for 1) people who birthed out of the hospital (either at a birth center or at home); and 2) people who may have been interested in an out-of-hospital birth but were not able to due to barriers or health criteria to complete a 7-8 minute survey about their experience. At the conclusion of the survey, a report will be compiled to inform policy that will improve access to equitable maternity care practices, including midwifery and doula care.

Survey participants must be a birthing woman (ages 18+) or person who gave birth in Louisiana after 2013. At this time, we are not able to include those who are pregnant and non-English speaking.

To get updates on our policy education efforts and to learn about how policymakers can hear your voice, sign up through the action network here.