The Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns initiative aims to improve maternal and infant outcomes for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries through three models of enhanced prenatal care: maternity care homes, group prenatal care, and birth centers. Findings from the first year of the Urban Institute’s evaluation are promising and indicate that, across all three models: participants have rates of C-section that are lower than the national average and breastfeeding rates at least as high as the national average; while women in group prenatal care and birth centers report lower preterm birth rates than the national average. Moreover, participants are overwhelmingly satisfied with the prenatal care they receive under Strong Start.

Read more about the Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative here (leaving the UI web site)