Aa. Herman et al., EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A COMMUNITY-BASED ENRICHED MODEL PRENATAL INTERVENTION PROJECT IN THE DISTRICT-OF-COLUMBIA, Health services research, 31(5), 1996, pp. 609-621
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.