Lifestyle modification as an intervention for inner city women at high risk for preterm birth

This study details a programme which emphasized nursing interventions for women at high risk for preterm birth. Preterm birth continues to be a major health problem, with ongoing research being conducted both in the United States and internationally in an effort to find causative factors. Programmes designed to prevent preterm birth have been described often in the literature, with lifestyle factors being implicated in the incidence of preterm birth by many researchers. The purpose of this study was to determine the lifestyle factors most often associated with preterm birth in a high risk population of inner city women, and to examine the effect of change in lifestyle when change was possible. Women at high risk for preterm birth were interviewed extensively for prevalence of 12 lifestyle factors most often cited in the literature as being associated with preterm birth. Counselling and education were offered to each woman, with emphasis on symptom recognition and modification of lifestyle activities. Comprehensive prenatal care was administered by programme personnel. A profile of the women's reported lifestyle activities and stress factors is presented along with the relationship to outcome. The data suggested that, when change in lifestyle activity or stress was possible, women who decreased the activity or stressor were more likely to deliver at term. This study represents one of the first efforts in the United States to produce a prospective database to quantify risk and analyse the impact of change in activities associated with symptoms of preterm labour in high risk women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)