Birth outcomes associated with receipt of group prenatal care among low-income Hispanic women

Abstract

Introduction: Although Hispanic women in the United States have preterm birth and low-birth-weight rates comparable to non-Hispanic white women, their rates fall short of 2010 Healthy People goals, with variability found across states. This study examined the effectiveness of the CenteringPregnancy group prenatal care model in reducing preterm birth and low-birth-weight rates for Hispanic women.

Methods: Pregnant Hispanic women at less than or equal to 20 weeks, gestation initiating prenatal care between January 2008 to July 2009 at 2 Palm Beach County, Florida, public health clinics selected either group or traditional prenatal care. Data on neonatal birth weight and gestational age were obtained through abstraction of Palm Beach County Health Department medical records. Records were abstracted for 97% of CenteringPregnancy (n = 150) and 94% of traditional care (n = 66) participants.

Results: A statistically significant difference was found in the percentage of women giving birth to preterm neonates (5% group prenatal care vs 13% traditional care; P= .04). There were no statistically significant differences in the percentage of women having a low-birth-weight neonate when group and traditional care participants were compared.

Discussion: The CenteringPregnancy model holds promise for improving the birth outcomes of Hispanic women. Future research should be conducted with larger sample sizes to replicate study findings using experimental designs and incorporating formal cost-effectiveness analyses.