Research Funding

Funding of research, and specifically the AABC Pernatal Data Registry (PDR), has been a priority of the AABC Foundation from the start. Read about the ways that the AABC Foundation supports research and new evidence below.

“While it is a public health imperative to research normal pregnancy and birth, including equitable access to midwifery care, it can be very challenging to get funding to research something that’s not always seen as “a problem.” Thank you to the AABC Foundation and all of its donors. You’re helping us do very necessary work.”

— Sarah A. Sanders, MPH, AABCF Research Grant Recipient

Research Grants

Each year, the AABC Foundation offers grant opportunities to support research projects on issues related to the birth center model of care. Since 2016, the AABC Foundation has funded 38 research projects. Published articles have been linked where applicable.

+ 2024

Care Happens in the Community. A Participatory Research Approach to Developing Birth Center Guidelines
Explore the Benefits of Yoga Nidra to Reduce Psychological Cumulative Stress and Prevent Burnout, Moral Injury, and Birth Trauma in Birth Providers, Medical Practitioners, Allied Professionals
Enhancing Maternity Care: Investigating the Impact of Chiropractic Care on Labor Length in Community Birth Settings

+ 2023

Community Education on Birth Center Care: Assessing the Landscape for Vermont Birth Options
Neonatal Resuscitation Provider Training for Birth Center Staff – An Analysis of Efficacy
The Impact of Alongside Midwifery Unit (AMU) and Freestanding Birth Center (FSBC) Environments on the Maternal Outcomes of Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women

+ 2022

The Birth Equity Ecosystem in New Jersey: A Mixed Methods Geospatial and Policy Analysis of Birth Center Access
Outcomes for People with Larger Bodies in Freestanding Birth Centers Compared to Advanced Maternal Age and Nulliparity
Birthing the Change: Birthing Centers, Community Birth Workers, and Conceptualizations of Inequality
Birth Center Outcomes of Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Birthing People
Exploring the Awareness of Birth Centers, Choice of Maternity Care Providers and Childbirth Plans Among Diverse, National Sample of Pregnant Individuals during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Factors Affecting Birth Center Decision-Making During Pregnancy

+ 2021

Using Spatial Analysis to Gauge Birth Center Access for Black and Medicaid Populations
Analyzing Patient Utilization of Cambridge Birth Center and a Review of Outcomes, 2015-2019
Developing a Framework to Expand Education and Access to the Birth Center Model in a Semi-Rural County in Pennsylvania

+ 2020

Predictors and Outcomes of Prolonged Third Stage of Labor in the Community Setting
Development & Implementation of an Ongoing Practice Survey for Summary Analysis by the American Association of Birth Centers
Assessment of Interprofessional Collaboration at Birth Centers: Does Collaboration Influence Clinical Outcomes?
Adoption of Consensus Guidelines for Safe Prevention of the Primary Cesarean Delivery by Freestanding Birth Centers
Improving the Experience of Care: Results of the American Association of Birth Centers Strong Start Client Experience of Care Registry Pilot Program, 2015-2016
Data Merge, Data Cleaning, and Preliminary Analysis of AABC Uniform Data Set, AABC Perinatal Data Registry, & Birth Center Data from MANAStats
Analysis of the Cesarean Birth Rate in Birth Centers in the United States using the Robson Ten-Group Classification System

+ 2019

Neonatal Resuscitation Provider Training for Birth Center Staff - an Analysis of Efficacy
ARRIVING at Best Practice: Induction of Labor at Term Among Low Risk Nulliparas American Association of Birth Centers Perinatal Data Registry
Elective Hospitalization Among Childbearing Women 2007-2017 Within the American Association of Birth Centers Member Practices
Preliminary Analysis of Linked AABC Maternity Survey and PDR Data
[Strong Start in birth centers: Socio‐demographic characteristics, care processes, and outcomes for mothers and newborns][4] [4]: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/birt.12433

+ 2018

Confidence for Physiologic Birth in the Birth Center Model of Care
The Use of Video Calls in Early Labor Care: Exploring Midwives’ Views of the Potential Benefits and Challenges
Understanding of Risk and Safety in Out-Of-Hospital Birth

+ 2017

A Comparison of Clinical Outcomes by Birth Center Characteristics
Use of Active Management of 3rd Stage in Birth Centers
Key indicators influencing management of prolonged second stage labour by midwives in freestanding birth centres: Results from an ethnographic interview study
Birth Center Models Globally: a Preliminary Descriptive Analysis and Database
Management of Late-Term & Post-Term Pregnancy in Birth Centers

+ 2016

[Birth Outcomes of Women with Obesity Enrolled for Care at Freestanding Birth Centers in the United States][7]
[The Experience of Land and Water Birth Within the American Association of Birth Centers Perinatal Data Registry, 2012-2017][8]
Midwife-Attended Second Stage Management in a Freestanding Birth Center [7]: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jmwh.13194 [8]: https://journals.lww.com/jpnnjournal/Fulltext/2020/01000/The_Experience_of_Land_and_Water_Birth_Within_the.7.aspx

Learn more about the AABC Foundation Research Grant and how to apply.

Additional Research Funding Awarded

Open Access Funding

Being Known: A Grounded Theory Study of the Meaning of Quality Maternity Care to People of Color in Boston

Strong Start Data Analysis & Promotion Grant

In 2018, a grant was awarded to AABC. The AABC Foundation recognized the importance of the timely analysis and promotion of the data from the AABC Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative, a multi-year federal grant awarded to the AABC. The following research and articles have been published with the help of this grant.

Perinatal Data Registry

The AABC Foundation provided the initial funding for the Perinatal Data Registry (formerly known as the Uniform Data Set or UDS). The PDR is an online data registry for ongoing collection of perinatal data in all settings and by all providers. This data registry, developed by AABC over the past 20 years, is designed to collect comprehensive data on both the process and outcomes of the midwifery model of care. The large prospective data set generated from the registry can make an important contribution to our ability to evaluate and improve the delivery of care to childbearing women and families.

In 2015, the data was analyzed for the National Birth Center Study II which reinforced longstanding evidence that midwife-led birth centers provide safe and effective health care for women during pregnancy, labor, and birth. The PDR was then used in 2013 to collect data for the government-funded Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative.