
Speaker: Amy Goh, Dia Kapoor, and Anna Nguyen
Facilitator: Olajumoke Ojeleye
Asians and Asian Americans (Asians) have the second highest rate of caesarean birth in the U.S. Asians have the lowest rate of out-of-hospital birth and are low utilizers of midwifery care. This presentation examines cesarean birth amongst Asians who have birthed at U.S. institutions participating in the AABC’s Perinatal Data Registry (PDR).
Methods: Data from the PDR from 2007-2020 was utilized. Logistical regression was completed to determine the odds of cesarean birth for nulliparous and multiparous Asians in medically low-risk and elective hospitals categories.
Results: 2,983 Asian birthing people were sampled. Multiparous birthing people had 1.5 greater odds of caesarean birth compared to nulliparous birthing people (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.19 – 2.03; p .01). The elective hospitalization group had higher adjusted odds of caesarean births compared to the low-risk and total population (OR = 1.54; 95% CI, 1.23 -1.93; p; .01). Nulliparous people in the elective hospitalization category had a rate of caesarean birth 1.5 times higher than the total (OR = 1.26; 95% CI, 1.09 -1.46; p .01) and 1.36 times higher than the low-risk sample (OR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.13 -1.63; p .01).
Conclusion: This study highlights inequities in multiparous and nulliparous cesarean birth among medically low-risk Asians. Further research is needed in disaggregation of perinatal outcomes and on reasons for low utilization of midwifery care and out-of-hospital births amongst U.S. Asians.
Recording: https://youtu.be/jc1ZxhkUvrc

Speaker:Jennifer Moffitt
Facilitator: Caitlin Goodwin
Abstract:
Bringing the practices of mindfulness to our patients and ourselves can significantly impact our patients’ relationship to pain and fear in labor, birth, and life. In this presentation, participants will have an opportunity to experience a mindfulness practice and learn ways to implement mindfulness in midwifery, including for childbirth and parenting. Participants will be exposed to how mindfulness meditation can decrease stress during pregnancy and beyond and hear about mindfulness skills for working through pain and fear in childbirth. Further, participants will learn how to encourage mindfulness life skills for parenting with wisdom, kindness, and connection from the moments of birth, as well as how mindfulness skills may be implemented as a way to disrupt intergenerational patterns of suffering. In particular, this presentation will offer concrete ways to bring mindfulness to the contractions of labor, and to the space in between the contractions of labor. The potential for separating “pain” from “suffering” using mindfulness practices will be explored, which can be applied to labor, and of course, to life. We will examine the research around mindfulness-based interventions, the relationship between perinatal stress and outcomes, and the potential that mindfulness strategies have for reducing health disparities.
Recording: https://youtu.be/9VIUNKd_WoY

