What is the Role of Prenatal Care in Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Pregnancy Outcomes?

Abstract

Abstract For morethan two decades, prenatal care has been a cornerstone of our nation?s strategy for preventing low birthweight (LBW). The enrollment of all pregnant women in prenatal care was promoted by the seminal 1985 Institute of Medicine report Preventing Low Birthweight (IOM, 1985a), following a comprehensive review of the literature by a select IOM committee on the effectiveness of prenatal care for preventing LBW. Because LBW contributes significantly to racial-ethnic disparities in infant mortality and morbidity, increasing access to prenatal care for all women has also become established as the key population-based public health intervention to address racial-ethnic disparities in perinatal outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to review evidence on the overall effectiveness of prenatal care in preventing LBW and reducing racial-ethnic disparities in LBW.