EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A COMMUNITY-BASED ENRICHED MODEL PRENATAL INTERVENTION PROJECT IN THE DISTRICT-OF-COLUMBIA

Objective. To evaluate an enriched prenatal intervention program desig ned to reduce the risk of low birth weight. Study Setting. Freestandin g community-based prenatal intervention project located in a poor inne r-city community, serving mostly African American women. Study Design. All women less than 29 weeks pregnant were eligible to participate. T hey were compared to women who lived in neighborhoods with similar rat es of poverty. Data Collection. The birth certificate was the source o f data on maternal age, education, marital status, timing and frequenc y of prenatal care attendance, parity, gravidity, prior pregnancy term inations, fetal and child deaths, and birth weight. Principal Findings . Thirty-eight percent of the women who delivered live-born infants in the study area participated in the program. There were no differences in low- and very low birthweight rates in the study and comparison gr oups. In a secondary analysis comparing participants and nonparticipan ts in the study census tracts, participants were at higher risk for lo w and very low birth weight, and they adhered more closely to the sche dule of prenatal visits than nonparticipants. Low- and very low birthw eight rates were lower among participants than among nonparticipants a nd comparison women. Conclusion. The Better Babies Project did not hav e an effect on the overall low- and very low birthweight rates in the study census tracts. This was probably due to the low participation ra tes and the high population mobility.