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Prenatal Health Care

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Women who receive prenatal health care generally benefit from fewer medical complications during pregnancy, and their babies also tend to experience a lower risk of health problems during infancy and long-term benefits throughout their growth and development. RAND research related to prenatal health care includes studies on infant mortality, low birth weight, prenatal substance use, and prenatal care and nutrition for low-income women.

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
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

Explore Prenatal Health Care

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
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
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
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
Implementation Challenges Delay Home Visiting Services in New Mexico
Home visiting programs can deliver much-needed health care to vulnerable children and their families. However, program implementation efforts in New Mexico have been thwarted by funding delays, insufficient resources, and poor execution of crucial capacity-building tools.
Jul 23, 2014
Journal Article
Prenatal, Perinatal, Early Life, and Sociodemographic Factors Underlying Racial Differences in the Likelihood of High Body Index in Early Childhood
Racial disparities in early childhood high BMI were largely explained by potentially modifiable risk and protective factors.
Oct 16, 2012
Content
Survey Examines Rural Guatemalan Attitudes toward Childhood Illness and Pregnancy
The Guatemalan Survey of Family Health was designed to examine the way in which rural Guatemalan families and individuals cope with childhood illness and pregnancy, and the role of ethnicity, poverty, social support, and health beliefs in this process.
Sep 15, 2010
Journal Article
Does WIC Work? The Effects of WIC on Pregnancy and Birth Outcomes
Support for WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, is based on the belief that WIC works.
Jan 1, 2004
Journal Article
The Effect of Legal and Hospital Policies on Physician Response to Prenatal Substance Exposure
Results suggest a policy strategy focused first on enacting laws that would encourage a patient-centered approach, by developing and using hospital protocols to implement state policy, and then on educating physicians about the actual legal environment.
Sep 1, 2003
Journal Article
Reciprocal Obligations: Managing Policy Responses to Prenatal Substance Exposure
The policy debate over prenatal substance exposure (PSE) is highly contentious and polarized.
Jan 1, 2003
Journal Article
A Search for Guidance: Examining Prenatal Substance Exposure Protocols
Only half of coded protocols included an implementation date; 37% lacked any goal or statement of purpose.
Jan 1, 2002
Journal Article
Women's Health and Pregnancy Outcomes: Do Services Make a Difference?
Provides an overview of the standardized measures that the Mental Health Care for Child Crime Victims Standards of Care Task Force thinks useful for assessing trauma in children and their families.
Jan 1, 2001

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