Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve
Carol Sakala and Maureen P. Corry
Co-published by Childbirth Connection, the Reforming States Group, and the Milbank Memorial Fund
October 2008
Available online at: http://www.milbank.org/reports/0809MaternityCare/0809MaternityCare.html
“….Effective maternity care with least harm is optimal for childbearing women and newborns. High-quality systematic reviews of the best available research provide the most trustworthy knowledge about beneficial and harmful effects of health interventions. A large, growing body of systematic reviews is available to help clarify effects of maternity practices, yet these valuable resources are grossly underutilized in policy, practice, education, and research in the
Practices that are disproved or appropriate for mothers and babies in limited circumstances are in wide use, and beneficial practices are underused. Rates of use of specific practices vary broadly across facilities, providers, and geographic areas, in large part because of differences in practice style and other extrinsic factors rather than differences in needs of women and newborns.
These gaps between actual practice and lessons from the best evidence reveal tremendous opportunities to improve the structure, process, and outcomes of maternity care for women and babies and to obtain greater value for investments. This report points the way to achieving these gains for the large population of childbearing women and newborns and for those who pay for their care….”
“….Evidence-based maternity care uses the best available research on the safety and effectiveness of specific practices to help guide maternity care decisions and to facilitate optimal outcomes in mothers and newborns. Although the field of pregnancy and childbirth pioneered evidence-based practice, resulting in a wealth of clear guidance for evidence-based maternity care, there remains a widespread and continuing underuse of beneficial practices, overuse of harmful or ineffective practices, and uncertainty about effects of inadequately assessed practices. …”
Table of Contents
Evidence-Based Maternity Care: Effective Care with Least Harm
The Physiologic Foundation of Evidence-Based Maternity Care
Underused Interventions: Examples of Practices to Use Whenever Possible and Appropriate
Challenges to Closing Evidence-Practice Gaps in Maternity Care in the United States
Policy Recommendations Developed in Collaboration with Members of the Reforming States Group
Appendix: Leading Resources and Tools for Evidence-Based Maternity Care
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