Objective: To improve health outcomes in a vulnerable population of adolescent mothers and their infants.
Design: Effects of an intensive early intervention program (EIP) are compared with those of traditional public health nursing (TPHN) care.
Setting: A large California county with urban and rural communities, an ethnically diverse population, and a high teen birth rate.
Participants: One hundred twenty-one young mothers and their children from impoverished and predominantly minority backgrounds.
Interventions: During pregnancy and through 1 year postpartum, participants (n=63) in the EIP were provided with 4 prenatal classes and approximately 17 home visits by specially trained public health nurses. Interventions addressed health issues, sexuality and family planning, life skills, the maternal role, and social support systems. Participants in TPHN (n=58) received three home visits (for intake, prenatal care, and postpartum/well-baby care information).
Main outcome measures: Antepartum, intrapartum, and newborn medical records; maternal responses to written questionnaires; and nurse interviews.
Results: Early program outcomes indicate reduced premature birth rates for both groups compared with national data on adolescent mothers, and fewer days of infant hospitalization during the first 6 weeks postpartum for the EIP participants.
Conclusion: Public health nurse care (both traditional and intensive) significantly improved perinatal outcomes; the intensive intervention significantly reduced the number of infant hospitalization days.