Modeling the Cost-Effectiveness of Doula Care Associated with Reductions in Preterm Birth and Cesarean Delivery.

ABSTRACT:

Background

One in nine US infants is born before 37 weeks' gestation, incurring medical costs 10 times higher than full-term infants. One in three infants is born by cesarean; cesarean births cost twice as much as vaginal births. We compared rates of preterm and cesarean birth among Medicaid recipients with prenatal access to doula care (nonmedical maternal support) with similar women regionally. We used data on this association to mathematically model the potential cost-effectiveness of Medicaid coverage of doula services.

Methods

Data came from two sources: all Medicaid-funded, singleton births at hospitals in the West North Central and East North Central US (n = 65,147) in the 2012 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, and all Medicaid-funded singleton births (n = 1,935) supported

SUBMITTER: Kozhimannil KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5544530 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature