Rachel Blankstein Breman, PhD, MPH, RN, FAWHONN, of the University of Maryland School of Nursing created the first patient-reported measure to capture what people experience in maternity care.
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Childbirth is one of life’s most important moments — but many people say their voices aren’t heard during their prenatal care and birth.
Pointing to scientific literature, Rachel Blankstein Breman, PhD, MPH, RN, FAWHONN, assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, said, “We have recently seen an uptick in people reporting that they don't feel heard and that their preferences and their options aren't necessarily being explained to them by their providers. And so I created CHOICEs to measure the patient experience, because I felt that we needed something to objectively measure what people were saying was happening.”
CHOICEs — CHildbirth Options, Information, and Person-Centered Explanation — is the first patient-reported measure designed to capture what people experience in maternity care. Unlike traditional metrics such as C-section rates or newborn Apgar scores, it centers the patient voice.
“What CHOICEs does is — because it's what is called a patient-reported experience measure — it objectively reports what patients are experiencing,” Breman explained. “Why that's important is because there's no other metric for this.”
Already in use in Texas, Illinois, and Maryland, CHOICES aims to show providers, administrators, and families that patient voices matter and that listening to those voices can improve shared decision-making, elevate the care experience, and ensure childbirth is treated as a dignified event for every family.
In a new video Q&A, Breman shares more about how listening to patients can improve outcomes for families and transform childbirth in America.