Program to help low-income pregnant women having positive effect

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A program aimed at helping low-income women during their pregnancies is producing positive results, researchers say. <br><br>Those enrolled in the ``Children First'' program,

Thursday, December 5th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A program aimed at helping low-income women during their pregnancies is producing positive results, researchers say.

Those enrolled in the ``Children First'' program, which provides home visits from Health Department nurses to high-risk, first-time mothers and infants, are experiencing fewer adverse outcomes with their newborns.

Birth information for 9,514 Oklahoma first-time mothers was analyzed by University of Oklahoma College of Public Health researchers Linda Cowan and Helene Carabin.

Cowan and Carabin compared data for mothers in the ``Children First'' program to mothers in the general population of pregnant women in Oklahoma and found:

_``Children First'' mothers were 31.9 percent less likely of having a ``very preterm baby'', defined as less than 30 weeks gestation, compared with non-Children First mothers.

_``Children First'' mothers were 15 percent less likely to have a ``very low birth weight'' baby, defined as less than 3.5 pounds.

_``Children First'' mothers also were 72 percent less likely of having their infant die within the first year of life.

``The program was beneficial in preventing bad outcomes for first-time mothers,'' Cowan said Wednesday.

Dr. Leslie Beitsch, Oklahoma's health commissioner, said the researchers' conclusions show that the ``Children First'' program is having a positive impact on the high-risk population it targets.

``Children born with very low birth weights are likely to have increased child-care, health care and education needs as they grow. The preventive intervention services provided through Children First may help us reduce the need for these expensive treatment services,'' he said.

The Legislature started the program to provide home visits from Health Department nurses to high-risk, first-time mothers during pregnancy and for the first two years of their infants' lives.

The program is voluntary.