Preventing low birth weight: is prenatal care the answer?

Lu, Michael C.; Tache, V.; Alexander, G. R.; Kotelchuck, Milton; Halfon, N.

doi:10.1080/713605924

Cited by 34 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Reichman et al (2009) found that first trimester care reduces birthweight by only 20 g, and Evans and Lien (2005) found that prenatal visits do not have a significant effect on birthweight overall, but have a positive effect among mothers early in their pregnancies. The finding of a small or no overall effect of prenatal care is consistent with findings from a recent descriptive study with extremely rich data (Reichman and Teitler 2005) and a recent review in the medical literature indicating that few features of prenatal care would be expected to increase birthweight at the aggregate level (Lu et al 2003). Overall, the evidence that early or frequent prenatal care improves birth outcomes is less than compelling.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Effects of prenatal care on maternal postpartum behaviors

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Most research on the effectiveness of prenatal care has focused on birth outcomes and has found small or no effects. It is possible, however, that prenatal care is “too little too late” to improve pregnancy outcomes in the aggregate, but that it increases the use of pediatric health care or improves maternal health-related parenting practices and, ultimately, child health. We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing birth cohort study that have been augmented with hospital medical record data to estimate effects of prenatal care timing on pediatric health care utilization and health-related parenting behaviors during the first year of the child’s life. We focus on maternal postpartum smoking, preventive health care visits for the child, and breastfeeding. We use a multi-pronged approach to address the potential endogeneity of the timing of prenatal care. We find that first trimester prenatal care appears to decrease maternal postpartum smoking by about 5 percentage points and increase the likelihood of 4 or more well-baby visits by about 1 percentage point, and that it may also have a positive effect on breastfeeding. These findings suggest that there are benefits to standard prenatal care that are generally not considered in evaluations of prenatal care programs and interventions.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Effects of prenatal care on maternal postpartum behaviors

et al. 2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The RRs of anxiety disorders and anxiety severity should also be assessed because these psycho-pathologic conditions typically accompany depression and were found to be related in some, but not all, studies to adverse birth outcomes. Ideally, this future study would prospectively gather data during the prepregnancy, pregnancy, and postpartum periods, considering that a broader perspective on a woman’s health status may be necessary to better understand the risk factors associated with harmful birth outcomes 58,151,152…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Meta-analysis of Depression During Pregnancy and the Risk of Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Grote¹,

Bridge²,

Gavin³

et al. 2010

Arch Gen Psychiatry

1,599

1,096

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context Maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy have been reported in some, but not all, studies to be associated with an increased risk of preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW), and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Objective To estimate the risk of PTB, LBW, and IUGR associated with antenatal depression. Data Sources and Study Selection We searched for English-language and non–English-language articles via the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Social Work Abstracts, Social Services Abstracts, and Dissertation Abstracts International databases (January 1980 through December 2009). We aimed to include prospective studies reporting data on antenatal depression and at least 1 adverse birth outcome: PTB (<37 weeks’ gestation), LBW (<2500 g), or IUGR (<10th percentile for gestational age). Of 862 reviewed studies, 29 US-published and non–US-published studies met the selection criteria. Data Extraction Information was extracted on study characteristics, antenatal depression measurement, and other biopsychosocial risk factors and was reviewed twice to minimize error. Data Synthesis Pooled relative risks (RRs) for the effect of antenatal depression on each birth outcome were calculated using random-effects methods. In studies of PTB, LBW, and IUGR that used a categorical depression measure, pooled effect sizes were significantly larger (pooled RR [95% confidence interval]=1.39 [1.19–1.61], 1.49 [1.25–1.77], and 1.45 [1.05–2.02], respectively) compared with studies that used a continuous depression measure (1.03 [1.00–1.06], 1.04 [0.99–1.09], and 1.02 [1.00–1.04], respectively). The estimates of risk for categorically defined antenatal depression and PTB and LBW remained significant when the trim-and-fill procedure was used to correct for publication bias. The risk of LBW associated with antenatal depression was significantly larger in developing countries (RR=2.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.43–2.93) compared with the United States (RR=1.10; 95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.21) or European social democracies (RR=1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.92–1.47). Categorically defined antenatal depression tended to be associated with an increased risk of PTB among women of lower socioeconomic status in the United States. Conclusions Women with depression during pregnancy are at increased risk for PTB and LBW, although the magnitude of the effect varies as a function of depression measurement, country location, and US socioeconomic status. An important implication of these findings is that antenatal depression should be identified through universal screening and treated.

show abstract

“…This was partly because prenatal care seemed to be less effective in the unselected high-risk populations that gained new access to prenatal care than it had seemed in the self-selected groups who had previously made up the prenatal care population (Alexander & Korenbrot, 1995; Lu et al, 2003). Measuring the effectiveness of prenatal care in those years was further complicated by the fact that the demographics of childbearing had changed dramatically, with fewer teen pregnancies, more women delaying childbearing, more children born to immigrants, and more unmarried mothers (Hamilton et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rising preterm birth rates, 1989–2004: Changing demographics or changing obstetric practice?

VanderWeele

Lantos

Lauderdale

2012

Social Science & Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Preterm birth rates are higher in the United States than in most industrialized countries, and have been rising steadily. Some attribute these trends to changing demographics, with more older mothers, more infertility, and more multiple births. Others suggest that changes in obstetrics are behind the trends. We sought to determine what the preterm birth rate in 2004 would have been if demographic factors had not changed since 1989. We examined complete US birth certificate files from 1989 and 2004 and used logistic regression models to estimate what the 2004 preterm birth rates (overall, spontaneous, and medically induced) would have been if maternal age, race, nativity, gravidity, marital status, and education among childbearing women had not changed since 1989. While the overall preterm births increased from 11.2% to 12.8% from 1989-2004, medically induced rates increased 94%, from 3.4% to 6.6%, and spontaneous rates declined by 21%, from 7.8% to 6.2%. Had demographic factors in 2004 been what they were in 1989, the 2004 rates would have been almost identical. Changes in multiple births accounted for only 16% of the increase in medically induced rates. Our analysis suggests that the increase in preterm births is more likely to be due primarily to changes in obstetric practice, rather than to changes in the demographics of childbearing. Further research should examine the degree to which these changes in obstetric practice affect infant morbidity and mortality.

show abstract

Preventing low birth weight: is prenatal care the answer?

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Effects of prenatal care on maternal postpartum behaviors

Effects of prenatal care on maternal postpartum behaviors

A Meta-analysis of Depression During Pregnancy and the Risk of Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Rising preterm birth rates, 1989–2004: Changing demographics or changing obstetric practice?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About