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Obstetrics

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Essay
Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk
Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help them.
Jul 1, 2021
Research Brief
Evaluating Nigeria's Efforts to Improve Maternal and Child Health
Nigeria is the world's second-largest contributor to under-five and maternal mortality. To address low rates of use of maternal and child health services, the government deployed midwives to work in rural communities. How effective has this program been?
Sep 15, 2015

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Report
Birth-Centered Outcomes Research Engagement (B-CORE) in Medi-Cal: Community-Generated Recommendations to Decrease Maternal Mortality and Severe Maternal Morbidity
The B-CORE project, described in this report, applied the deliberative democracy method to engage affected community members in problem-solving focused on maternal health inequities in California.
May 31, 2023
Journal Article
Home Visiting for First-Time Parents: Community Innovation
We outline lessons from the First Born home visiting program for other universal programs, including the pros and cons of universal services, the expectation that universal programs will have population-level impact, and barriers to innovation.
May 25, 2023
Journal Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Attitudes Among Pregnant and Postpartum Parents
This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine uptake and reasons for delay or refusal among perinatal parents.
Jan 24, 2023
Research Brief
Using an Innovative Database and Machine Learning to Predict and Reduce Infant Mortality
Researchers created a unique database linking medical, social, and demographic information, then used machine learning techniques to evaluate risk of infant mortality and develop intervention recommendations to reduce each infant's risk of mortality
Feb 4, 2021
Report
Examining Interventions to Address Infant Mortality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Poor birth and infant outcomes and pronounced racial disparities persist in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, despite robust maternal and child health and social service systems. Which interventions are the most effective and how does effectiveness vary for women with different risk and other factors?
Jan 6, 2021
Periodical
RAND Review: September-October 2020
Feature stories explore how Pardee RAND is helping to shape the future of public policy through its Faculty Leaders Program; the safety and sustainability of the U.S. blood supply; and how telemedicine is changing the delivery of health care.
Sep 8, 2020
Blog
The Postal Service, Election Security, Reducing Child Deaths: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the role of the U.S. Postal Service, preparing for the presidential election, reducing child deaths in Nigeria, and more.
Jun 26, 2020
Research Brief
Reducing Child Deaths in Nigeria
A program paid expectant mothers in Nigeria to use prenatal, delivery, and postnatal health services, resulting in an increase in use of care. This led to a substantial decrease in child deaths. Scaling this program up across Nigeria could reduce stillbirths by 85,000 annually.
Jun 22, 2020
Journal Article
Healthcare at the Beginning of Life and Child Survival: Evidence from a Cash Transfer Experiment in Nigeria
We study the effects of a cash transfer program in Nigeria in which households were offered a payment of $14 conditioned on uptake of health services.
Dec 20, 2019
Commentary
Meghan Markle May Avoid the Spotlight After Giving Birth and Send a Powerful Public Health Message
Meghan Markle plans to break from royal tradition by declining to present her baby to the public on the the steps of the maternity ward, hours after giving birth, with flawless hair and makeup. This could bring attention to many of the postpartum challenges faced by women everywhere.
Apr 11, 2019
Journal Article
Stigma Gets in My Way: Factors Affecting Client-Provider Communication Regarding Childbearing Among People Living with HIV in Uganda
Among Ugandan HIV clients and health care providers, communication about childbearing needs is poor and associated with stigma.
Apr 10, 2018
Journal Article
Health Care at Birth and Infant Mortality: Evidence from Nighttime Deliveries in Nigeria
Ensuring that Nigerian women giving birth have access to health facilities will likely reduce infant mortality.
Dec 29, 2017
Journal Article
Going to Scale: Design and Implementation Challenges of a Program to Increase Access to Skilled Birth Attendants in Nigeria
A program to increase the number of skilled birth attendants in Nigeria was hampered by design, implementation and operational challenges.
Jun 13, 2017
Journal Article
Correlates of Electronic Cigarettes Use Before and During Pregnancy
Women of reproductive age were more likely to use electronic cigarettes than smoking cessation aids to quit smoking, suggesting an urgent need to understand the potential risks and benefits of e-cigarette use in this population.
May 19, 2017
Journal Article
New Parent Home Visiting Program Reduces Infants' Need for Medical Care
Infants whose families took part in a new parent home visit program were less likely to visit the emergency room and made fewer primary care visits during their first year of life. The program benefited at-risk families and those who had no risk factors.
Jan 27, 2017
Commentary
Fighting the Zika Virus: What Public Health Officials Need to Do
For now, public health officials and their partners must do all they can to control Zika virus, using the tools at hand. That may include instituting a public health campaign to reduce mosquito-breeding sites and promoting prudent protection against mosquito bites.
Jan 28, 2016
Report
The Urban Child Institute CANDLE Study
The Urban Child Institute developed the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) Study to identify what factors during pregnancy and early childhood affect a child's development and ability to learn.
Dec 21, 2015
Report
Evaluating the Impact of the Nigerian Midwives Service Scheme
To improve maternal and child health, the Nigerian government introduced the Midwives Service Scheme (MSS), a program to increase access to skilled care in rural areas. Experts evaluated the impact of MSS and found that initial improvements were not sustained.
Sep 15, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Obstetrics

Topic Synonyms:
Tocology

Research conducted by

RAND Health Care