In 2011, North Carolina launched the Pregnancy Health Clinic (PMH) program, an initiative designed to improve outcomes for pregnant people on Medicaid by providing them with the best care. Comprehensive care from a team of experts.
In addition to medical providers, the team includes individuals who can help pregnant people address the various social and economic factors that put them at greater risk of poor pregnancy outcomes.
The researchers analyzed data from January 2016 to December 2017. The study included 3,565 pregnant women in North Carolina in the Medicaid program. Individuals were classified as high or low risk using the screening assessment tool, the Maternal-Infant Likelihood Score (MIIS).
Those classified as high-risk had at least three of the following risk factors: previous preterm birth, high blood pressure, smoking, recreational drug or alcohol use, mental health condition mental health, experienced domestic violence, unstable housing or food insecurity.
The high-risk pregnancies were then assigned a care manager, who provided a variety of support during their pregnancy, including calling the pregnant woman in, accompanying the appointments and help address social and economic factors.
Among the study’s 3,565 pregnancies, the overall preterm birth rate was 18.3%. The researchers also looked at how effective the screening tool was for pregnant women in the highest risk group.
The results revealed that when the screening tool was used and assuming the pregnancies were managed after care, the rate of preterm births in Blacks and Whites decreased.
However, the preterm birth rate among Blacks decreased significantly from 24.4 percent to 20.1 percent, while the rate decreased only slightly among whites from 15.6 percent to 15.5 percent.
For Blacks who received intensive care during pregnancy, the rate of preterm birth was 16.9% compared with 26.0% among Blacks who did not receive intensive care during pregnancy.
For Caucasians who received intensive care management during pregnancy, the rate of preterm birth was 12.3% compared with 17.8% among Caucasians who did not receive intensive care during pregnancy. pregnant.
“Regardless of your risk factors, this study shows that if you get intensive care while you’re pregnant – someone who stays with you throughout your pregnancy – then will help reduce the risk of preterm birth.” author Divya Mallampati, MD, MPH, a maternal-fetal medicine physician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Research also shows that those most at risk benefit most from intensive care management during pregnancy. The next step is to analyze whether the PMH model improves other health outcomes during pregnancy.
Source: Medindia
