New approach to high-risk pregnancy begins far earlier than traditional programs.

Why? Because traditional programs that focus on women as soon as they become pregnant are not making any headway against the incidence of low and very low birth weight (LBW) babies. As a result, while more of these babies are surviving, a significant number have disabilities that will impact them for life while costing the health care system dearly. Experts at Emory University in Atlanta believe there must be a better way to curb the incidence of poor birth outcomes, and they are putting their theories to work in a new program focused on "interpregnancy" care.