Defining Midwifery-Led Care in the United States Using Concept Analysis

National health policy initiatives recommend increased integration of midwifery care in the United States to improve care quality and reduce maternal health disparities. However, the service models through which midwives provide midwifery care and produce quality outcomes are poorly understood. Midwifery-led care is a service model frequently associated with improved outcomes compared with other models. The service model has been infrequently or inconsistently studied in the Unites States and has been narrowly defined and applied to perinatal care. The purpose of this concept analysis was to evaluate the concept of midwifery-led care and expand the definition to guide midwifery practice, research, and health policy. The analysis followed Walker and Avant's methodology. Three attributes of midwifery-led care were identified: (1) midwife as the lead clinician; (2) person-midwife partnership; and (3) care embodies midwifery philosophy. Antecedents were (1) license to practice as a midwife; (2) a person needing or desiring sexual, reproductive, perinatal, or newborn care; (3) a person with low- or moderate-risk health status; (4) regulations and guidelines that support provision of midwifery care; and (5) reimbursement for services. Consequences of midwifery-led care included (1) improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, (2) patient satisfaction, and (3) reduced health care costs. The presented expanded definition of midwifery-led care is the first to use a systems level approach and explicitly center the person receiving care and the philosophical approach of midwifery care. Application of this definition is needed in theoretical and pragmatic research to classify midwifery-led care and other service models and compare patient- and organization-level outcomes.