Relationship education for women during pregnancy: The impact of MotherWise on birth outcomes

Abstract

The field of relationship science has called for more research on the impact of relationship education on child outcomes, yet studies in this area remain sparse, particularly regarding maternal and infant health at birth. Research on group prenatal care demonstrates that individual-oriented group interventions have a positive impact on infant birth outcomes, suggesting the need to consider the impacts of other forms of group programming for women. The current study examined the impact of MotherWise, an individual-oriented relationship education and brief case management/coaching program for minority and low-income pregnant women, on birth outcomes. The study sample included 136 women who enrolled in a larger randomized controlled trial of MotherWise during early pregnancy. Although statistical power was limited due to the sample size and the effects were not outright significant at p < 0.05, results indicated that the effects of MotherWise on birth outcomes were small to moderate in size (0.23 for birthweight, 0.46 for preterm birth) and suggest important avenues for future tests of relationship education programs and their impacts on maternal and infant health. The current study suggests that relationship education during pregnancy could directly impact women's and infant's health.

Impact of Prenatal Group Healthy Relationship Education on Postpartum Contraception

“… 10 , 11 A separate subanalysis of a smaller sample reported on birth outcomes and showed that the program was associated with a decreased rate of adverse composite obstetrical outcome. 12 This subgroup analysis reported here included those participants age 18 or older with a nonanomalous gestation randomized at any time during pregnancy receiving care and delivering at a single safety-net hospital and discharged home with a live infant(s). This study was approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board and the University of Denver Institutional Review Board.…”

Individual-oriented relationship education and postpartum depression: The impact of the MotherWise program.

“…Further, MotherWise was associated with positive impacts on outcomes not directly targeted within the program, including lower risk for preterm birth and higher infant birthweight (Rhoades et al, 2022), as well as fewer unintended pregnancies in the year following enrollment (Patnaik & Wood, 2021).…”