Getting midwives back to hospitals: A discrete choice experiment.

Background: There is a severe global shortage of midwives, and the situation worsens when qualified professionals leave their jobs because of inadequate working conditions. Hospitals have increasing difficulties in filling vacancies for midwives. In the case of Germany, midwives tend to give up birth assistance after an average of seven years working in delivery rooms, which are usually led by physicians.

Call (and pay) the midwife: A discrete choice experiment on mothers' preferences and their willingness to pay for midwifery care.

Background: Mothers in Germany are entitled to midwifery care; however, they face a lack of skilled professionals. While the reliability of the access to midwifery is of great public interest, we know little about clients' preferences.

Objectives: We conduct a discrete choice experiment to study preferences and willingness to accept copayment for the entire scope of midwifery care (pregnancy, delivery, and postnatal).