A quasi-experimental design to assess the effectiveness of the federal healthy start in reducing preterm birth among obese mothers.

We assessed the impact of Central Hillsborough Healthy Start (CHHS), a federally-funded program dedicated to improving maternal and infant outcomes in a population of high-risk obese mothers in the socio-economically challenged community of East Tampa in Florida on preterm birth and very preterm birth (VPTB). We utilized hospital discharge records linked to vital statistics data in Florida (2004-2007) to study obese women with a singleton birth, matching mothers in the CHHS catchment area with those from the rest of Florida. We conducted conditional logistic regression with the matched data. Obese mothers in the CHHS service area had a 61% lower likelihood of having a VPTB infant than obese mothers in the rest of the state (AOR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.21-0.70). Obese women of reproductive age may benefit from services from federal Healthy Start programs. Study findings underscore the need for further research to explore the impact of such programs.