preterm infants, study shows
In a study examining the impact of group versus individual prenatal care on birth weight and gestational age, researchers at Yale and Emory universities found that group prenatal care was associated with significantly better weight gain for preterm infants.
The study of 458 women -- published in the November issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology -- showed that the Centering Pregnancy Program, a new model of group prenatal care, results in higher birth weight, especially for those who delivered preterm. Among those born pre-term, infants of group patients were almost one pound heavier than infants of individual-care patients, according to researchers, who note this difference is both statistically and clinically significant.
"These results could impact the design and delivery of future prenatal care services," says principal investigator Jeannette Ickovics, associate professor in Yale's Departments of Epidemiology and Public Health and Psychology.
Ickovics says she is aware of the challenges of changing health care systems to provide prenatal care in a group setting, but pointed out that individual health care providers and their institutions often are seeking improved models for delivering quality, cost-effective prenatal care.
"We think that the Centering Pregnancy Program has the potential to improve health outcomes for all women and their children, but we are especially hopeful that group care could help reduce racial disparities in poor birth outcomes," she says.
Half of the women in the study entered group prenatal care; the other half received routine individual care. Women were matched by clinic, age, race and infant birth date. Study participants were predominantly black and Hispanic, of low socioeconomic status and served by one of three public clinics in Atlanta, Georgia or New Haven, Connecticut.
All the women in the study attended the Centering Pregnancy Program, which alters routine prenatal care by providing care in groups. Women have their initial intake into their obstetric care in the usual manner. They are then invited to join eight to 12 other women due during the same month in a group setting where they receive all prenatal care as well as education and skills building on pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting.
Other authors on the study included Trace S. Kershaw, Heather Reynolds and Urania Magriples of Yale; Claire Westdahl, Emory University; Sharon Schindler Rising, Centering Pregnancy and Parenting Association; and Carrie Klima, University of Illinois at Chicago.
-- By Karen Peart
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