New findings from the 2023 Maternal and Infant Health Assessment quantify the importance of person-centered maternity care to improve health for Black women and their infants. Person-centered care values and respects the whole individual physically, mentally, and spiritually and includes supportive communication and autonomy in decision-making. It is an essential element of high-quality health care with the potential to improve outcomes and reduce costs.
Key Findings
- Too few California women overall experience optimal person-centered care during childbirth, and Black women are less likely than others to receive optimal care. Only 54.6% of Black people giving birth experienced optimal person-centered care during childbirth, compared to 63.2% statewide.
- Person-centered care is linked to better health. Those who experienced optimal care reported fewer anxiety and depression symptoms after birth, higher postpartum visit attendance, and greater likelihood of breastfeeding.
- Communication and autonomy gaps drive inequities. Only 41% of Black women experienced optimal communication and involvement in decision-making. The most common concern was not feeling heard.
Discrimination in care remains common. Nearly 1 in 4 Black women reported experiencing discrimination by providers during birth.
Calls to Action
The brief offers several strategies for improving person-centered care during delivery for Black women. These include:
Ensure that Black women's concerns are heard and their collective expertise is prioritized within health care systems.
Health care providers and systems should implement toolkits on respectful and equitable care to improve person-centered maternity care.
Promote models of maternity care that are rooted in person-centered care.
Use policies and administrative strategies to address barriers to equitable care.
The Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA) is an annual, statewide-representative survey of California residents with a recent live birth. MIHA is a collaborative effort of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) Division of the California Department of Public Health and the Center for Health Equity at the University of California, San Francisco. The MIHA project is supported by the California Department of Public Health using federal funds from the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and other CDPH funding sources.
Expansion and analysis of person-centered maternity care measures in MIHA was supported by the California Health Care Foundation.