Global health care systems are under unprecedented strain as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. This stress has changed how prenatal, labour, delivery, and postpartum care are provided in the United States, leading many expectant women to seek community midwives' care for their maternal health in a home or independent birth centre setting. Community midwives work on the outside of the U.S. healthcare system while being the leading maternal health care providers globally, largely because of governmental limitations. This commentary builds on earlier research to hypothesise that the COVID-19-related disruption of the health care system and the increased visibility of community midwives may lead to the emergence of a "focusing event" or window in which policy can be changed, allowing community midwives and their supporters to influence it.
KeywordsCOVID-19; Pandemic; Midwives; Birth; focusing event
Published Date: 2023-02-28; Received Date: 2023-02-02
