Most birthing people in the US struggle to access maternal care providers, study shows

In the US—which has the highest maternal mortality rate of any high-income economy—the majority of birthing people struggle to access maternal healthcare providers, according to research published in February from drug marketplace GoodRx.

Over half of birthing people (57%) who GoodRx surveyed said they were unable to access all of the maternal healthcare providers they wished to see during their pregnancy, labor, and birth, including doulas, lactation consultants, mental health providers, and nutritionists. Additionally, more than 5.6 million women live in counties with either limited or no access to maternal healthcare services, GoodRx found.

“This new research emerges alongside a worrisome trend: Maternal mortality has increased. And that trend is even worse for the American Indian/Alaskan Native and Black populations,” Diane Li, an analyst and researcher at GoodRx, wrote about the findings.

GoodRx conducted the survey via Qualtrics, an experience management company. The company surveyed 1,015 people between October and November 2023. All respondents had given birth within two years leading up to the survey, and the results were weighted to be nationally representative, according to GoodRx.

Non-white respondents reported having a harder time accessing maternal healthcare providers compared to white respondents, according to GoodRx. Sixty-six percent of respondents who identified as Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native said they weren’t able to access all the providers they wished to see during their pregnancies and births, compared to 65% of Hispanic/Latino respondents, 63% of Asian respondents, and 51% of white respondents.

Some types of healthcare providers were harder to access than others. These providers included genetic counselors and birth doulas, according to the research.

The most commonly reported barriers to accessing maternal healthcare providers were availability/convenience and financial barriers, as well as distance/transportation and knowledge barriers, according to GoodRx.

Respondents cited not having access to maternal healthcare providers that were covered by their insurance or not being able to afford their copays as financial hurdles. Knowledge barriers included not knowing how to find a provider or not knowing what kind of providers were covered by their insurance.

“The reasons mothers were not able to see these [healthcare providers] are multifaceted and can give us a better idea of how to meet the needs of future mothers,” Li wrote.