Birth Outcomes of Diabetic Health Start Participants in 2010

Abstract

In Arizona, the Health Start program, a home visiting program, aims to identify at risk (for Low-birth-weight-for-gestational-age babies) women, and educate them about maternal, child, and fetal health, and refer them to medical care throughout their pregnancy and two years post-partum. The goals of the program are to reduce low birth weight infants, reduce the number of infants and young children affected by childhood disease, and increase the number of pregnant women receiving prenatal care. During the years 2009-2010, 2,168 pregnant women received a visit from in the Health Start (HS) program. After matching and exclusions, 808 pregnant women who gave birth in Arizona in 2010 were included. Of the 808 matched HS clients, 3% (n=23) of women were identified as having diabetes (gestational, type I or type II); this group of women was examined for birth outcomes and compared to a matched 2:1 control group of non-HS Arizona women who gave birth in 2010. Known diabetic complications were compared between the groups using chi square tests. Additional birth outcomes that were measured in both groups were congenital abnormalities. The hypothesis was that women with diabetes in the HS program would have better birth outcomes as compared to the control group. The results comparing the groups were not statistically different.