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Where Do You Feel Safest? Demographic Factors and Place of Birth
Author(s) -
Sperlich Mickey,
Gabriel Cynthia,
Seng Julia
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1111/jmwh.12498
Subject(s) - psychology , medicine , demography , history , sociology
The vast majority of planned out‐of‐hospital births in the United States occur among white women; no study has addressed whether black women prefer out‐of‐hospital birth less or whether this racial disparity is due to other causes such as constrained access. This study sought to answer the question of whether white and black women feel safest giving birth in out‐of‐hospital settings at different rates and whether this answer is associated with other socioeconomic indicators. Methods An interview of 634 nulliparous women during the third trimester of their pregnancy in Michigan provided data regarding where women felt safest giving birth. Feeling safest giving birth out‐of‐hospital was examined in relation to socioeconomic factors including race, age, household income, education, residence in a high‐crime neighborhood, partnered status, and type of insurance. Results This study found that black and white women say they feel safest giving birth in out‐of‐hospital settings at similar rates (11.5% and 13.1%, respectively). Logistic regression results showed that poverty and having education beyond high school were the only sociodemographic indicators significantly associated with feeling safest giving birth out‐of‐hospital. Discussion Disparities evident in planned home birth and birth center rates cannot be explained by racial differences in feelings toward out‐of‐hospital birth and should be addressed more specifically in public policy and future studies.