A statewide Medicaid enhanced prenatal care program: impact on birth outcomes

Policy makers and practitioners need rigorous evaluations of state-based Medicaid enhanced prenatal care programs that provide home visiting to guide improvements and inform future investments. Effects on adverse birth outcomes are of particular interest.

To test if participation in the Michigan statewide enhanced prenatal care program, the Maternal Infant Health Program (MIHP), accounting for program timing and dosage, reduced risk for low birth weight (LBW) and preterm birth, particularly among black women who are at greater risk for adverse outcomes.

Quasi-experimental cohort study. Data, including birth records, Medicaid claims, and monthly program participation, were extracted from the Michigan Department of Community Health warehouse. Participants included all 60 653 pregnant women who had a Medicaid-insured singleton birth between January 1 and December 31, 2010, in Michigan. The MIHP participants were propensity score-matched with nonparticipants based on demographics, previous pregnancies, socioeconomic status, and chronic disease.

An enhanced prenatal care program.

Low birth weight, very low birth weight (VLBW), preterm birth, and very preterm birth.

In the propensity score-matched models, black women who enrolled and were screened in the MIHP by the end of the second trimester had lower odds of VLBW (odds ratio [OR], 0.76; 95% CI, 0.59-0.97) and very preterm births (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.85) than matched nonparticipants. Black MIHP participants who enrolled and were screened in the program by the second trimester and had at least 3 additional prenatal MIHP contacts had lower odds of LBW (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.65-0.89), VLBW (0.42; 0.30-0.61), preterm birth (0.71; 0.61-0.83), and very preterm birth (0.41; 0.30-0.57) compared with matched nonparticipants. The MIHP participants of other races and ethnicities who enrolled and were screened in the program by the second trimester and had at least 3 additional prenatal MIHP contacts had lower odds of LBW (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.66-0.93), VLBW (0.38; 0.22-0.66), preterm birth (0.77; 0.66-0.89), and very preterm birth (0.63; 0.43-0.91) compared with matched nonparticipants.

Participation in MIHP reduced the risk for adverse birth outcomes in a diverse, disadvantaged population. The study adds to the evidence base for enhanced prenatal care home visiting programs and informs state and federal investments.