What is Evidence Based Care?

Evidence based care is a term you hear often in medicine, but what does it really mean—especially when it comes to pregnancy and birth? In this episode, Dr. Rebecca Dekker takes you inside the foundations of Evidence Based Birth, explaining what evidence based care is (and isn’t), and why it matters for families, providers, and communities.

Dr. Dekker breaks down the three essential pillars of evidence based care: the best available research, the provider’s expertise, and the birthing person’s values and preferences. She explores how care can drift away from this model when decisions are based solely on tradition, authority, or convenience rather than the evidence. Along the way, hear how families can use this knowledge to navigate common hospital policies and advocate for care that truly centers their needs.

(02:12) Outdated practices and the rise of evidence based medicine
(05:00) Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, and whose knowledge counts
(08:05) The three pillars of evidence based care: research, expertise, and patient values
(10:50) Understanding levels of evidence: from systematic reviews to case reports
(19:30) Why clinical expertise and trusted providers matter in applying research
(22:10) The role of patient values, preferences, and underlying biases
(27:10) What evidence based care is, and what it is not

For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit https://evidencebasedbirth.com/

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Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide (http://ebbirth.com/shop) or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!"

If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (http://ebbirth.com/membership) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program (http://ebbirth.com/instructor). Find an EBB Instructor who teaches the EBB Childbirth Class here (http://ebbirth.com/events).