RELATION OF THE CONTENT OF PRENATAL-CARE TO THE RISK OF LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT - MATERNAL REPORTS OF HEALTH BEHAVIOR ADVICE AND INITIAL PRENATAL-CARE PROCEDURES

Objective.-Numerous studies have found a relationship between the quan tity of prenatal care received and birth outcomes. Few studies have ha d the opportunity to examine the content of prenatal care. This study examined the relationship between two components of the content of pre natal care: maternal reports of health behavior advice received and in itial prenatal care procedures performed during the first two visits a nd low birth weight in a national sample of women. Advice and initial procedures were categorized based on the recommendations of the US Pub lic Health Service Expert Panel on the Content of Prenatal Care.Design .-Interview survey of a nationally representative sample of women who had live births in 1988. Participants.-A total of 9394 women, with dat a from the National Maternal and Infant Health Survey. Main Outcome Me asure.-Low birth weight (<2500 g) as reported on the birth certificate . Results.-After controlling for other sociodemographic, utilization, medical, and behavioral factors, women who reported not receiving all the types of advice recommended by the Expert Panel on the Content of Prenatal Care were more likely to have a low-birth-weight infant compa red with women who reported receiving the optimal level of advice (odd s ratio=1.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.18 to 1.60). There were no di fferences between women who reported receiving all the recommended ini tial prenatal care procedures and those who reported not receiving all recommended prenatal care (odds ratio=1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.87 to 1.14). Conclusion.-These data suggest that women who report re ceiving sufficient health behavior advice as part of their prenatal ca re are at lower risk of delivering a low-birth-weight infant.