Interpregnancy primary care and social support for African-American women at risk for recurrent very-low-birthweight delivery: A pilot evaluation

Background.  Very-low-birthweight (VLBW) delivery accounts for the majority of neonatal mortality and the black-white disparity in infant mortality.  The risk of recurrent VLBW is highest for African-Americans of lower socioeconomic status.  This study explores whether the provision of primary health care and social support following a VLBW delivery improves subsequent reproductive health outcomes for low-income, African-American women.    

Methods.  This pilot study of mixed prospective-retrospective cohort design enrolled African-American women who qualified for indigent care and delivered a VLBW infant at a public hospital in Atlanta from November 2003 through March 2004 into the intervention cohort (n₁ = 29).  The intervention consisted of coordinated primary health care and social support for 24 months following the VLBW delivery.  A retrospective cohort was assembled from consecutive women meeting the same eligibility criteria who delivered a VLBW infant during July 2001 through June 2002 (n₂ = 58).   The number of pregnancies conceived within 18 months of the index VLBW delivery and the number of adverse pregnancy outcomes for each cohort was compared with Poisson regression.

Results.  Women in the control cohort had, on average, 2.57 (95% CI: 1.14 – 5.78) times as many pregnancies within 18 months of the index VLBW delivery and 3.51 (95% CI: 1.04 – 11.73) times as many adverse pregnancy outcomes as women in the intervention cohort.

Conclusions.  This small, pilot study suggests that primary health care and social support for low-income, African-American women following a VLBW delivery may enhance achievement of a subsequent 18-month interpregnancy interval and reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes.