DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY IN A COMMUNITY, PRACTICE-BASED RESEARCH NETWORK - A STUDY OF NURSE-MIDWIFERY HOME-BIRTH PRACTICE

Objective: to assess the feasibility, probable success, and inherent p roblems of conducting a multi-site, multi-year cohort study of planned home birth in the USA. Design: a prospective cohort study. Setting: 1 4 states across the USA, representing a variety of regions and setting s. Participants: 29 home-birth midwifery practices, representing 44 in dividual midwives in both large and small, solo and group practices. D ata collection: birth outcomes for all women initially enrolled in the se home-birth practices. Key conclusion: multi-site studies of evaluat ing outcomes in small community-based practices are possible if severa l requirements are met. Implications for practice: understudied birth alternatives can be formally researched within a co-operative network of participating practitioners.