Skip to page content

Maternal Health

Maternal health during and immediately after pregnancy is strongly correlated with access to and quality of prenatal medical care; nutrition; and food security. RAND's research on maternal health throughout the world includes studies of prenatal obstetric care for low-income women, the effects of public assistance on birth outcomes, maternal and infant mortality, family planning and birth spacing, prenatal substance use, and maternal mental health.

Journal Article

Lessons Learned Recruiting and Retaining Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals in Digital Trials

We collaborated to share lessons learned from our experiences recruiting and retaining pregnant and postpartum individuals in digital trials of social and behavioral interventions.

Mar 8, 2022
Journal Article

Cannabis Legalization and Cannabis-Involved Pregnancy Hospitalizations in Colorado

The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the association between presence of recreational cannabis dispensaries and prevalence of cannabis-involved pregnancy hospitalizations in Colorado.

Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article

Impact of Telelactation Services on Breastfeeding Outcomes Among Black and Latinx Parents: Protocol for the Tele-MILC Randomized Controlled Trial

We present a protocol for the digital Tele-MILC trial, which uses mixed methods to evaluate the impact of telelactation services on breastfeeding outcomes.

Mar 4, 2022
Journal Article

Tackling Persistent and Large Disparities in Birth Outcomes in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

The IMPreSIv database allowed us to summarize the maternal health, behavioral, and contextual factors associated with birth outcomes and describe the participation rates in available medical and community setting interventions in Allegheny County.

Jan 5, 2022
Journal Article

Money and My Mind: Maternal Cash Transfers and Mental Health

This paper documents important mental health spillovers in the context of a program that offered pregnant women modest cash incentives to use pre- and perinatal health care services.

Nov 10, 2021
Journal Article

In Nigeria, Stillbirths And Newborn Deaths Increased During The COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 increased the number of stillbirths and newborn deaths in Nigeria.

Nov 3, 2021
Blog

Nuclear Deterrence, COVID-19 and Infant Deaths, Criminal Justice Reform: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on why the United States doesn’t need more nuclear weapons, increased infant deaths during the pandemic, preventing veteran suicide, and more.

Oct 22, 2021
Blog

Pandemic-Era Parties, China's Global Influence, Reducing Infant Mortality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on assessing the risk of small gatherings during the pandemic, China's ability to exert influence around the world, using big data to help reduce infant mortality, and more.

Jul 2, 2021
Essay

Reducing Disparities in Infant Mortality: Using Big Data to Help Babies at Risk

Black babies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—and across America—face much higher mortality rates than white babies. Researchers pulled together thousands of data points on more than 150,000 births to better predict who is at risk and how to help them.

Jul 1, 2021
Commentary

Mothers Need a Continuous System of Care Even After Babies Are Born

In the United States, babies are born into a system of well-child care—a series of planned health care visits designed to protect their health from day one through age six. But no such system exists for their mothers. How do we create a system of health care for mothers that mirrors well-child care?

May 10, 2021
Report

Informing the Development of Standardized Clinical Definitions of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome and Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome: Results of Two Modified-Delphi Expert Panels

The authors describe the results of two modified-Delphi expert panels used to inform the work of a federal steering committee on the development of clinical definitions of neonatal abstinence syndrome and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.

May 3, 2021
Journal Article

The Childcare Gap in EU Member States

This policy memo focuses on the childcare gap as a concept, as well as on how the concept has been operationalised in existing literature.

Mar 9, 2021
Journal Article

Care Management Reduced Infant Mortality for Medicaid Managed Care Enrollees in Ohio

The Ohio Department of Medicaid introduced requirements to be delivered by Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). This study evaluated the impact of care management on reducing infant mortality in the largest Medicaid MCO in Ohio.

Feb 12, 2021
Research Brief

Using an Innovative Database and Machine Learning to Predict and Reduce Infant Mortality

Researchers created a unique database linking medical, social, and demographic information, then used machine learning techniques to evaluate risk of infant mortality and develop intervention recommendations to reduce each infant's risk of mortality

Feb 4, 2021
Journal Article

Measuring Childbirth Outcomes Using Administrative and Birth Certificate Data

The aim of this study was to develop a risk-adjusted composite measure of severe maternal morbidity and severe newborn morbidity based on administrative and birth certificate data.

Jan 22, 2021
Journal Article

Engaging Patients and Professionals to Evaluate the Seriousness of Maternal and Child Health Outcomes: Protocol for a Modified Delphi Study

This article determines the seriousness of 11 maternal and child health outcomes associated with pregnancy weight gain, by engaging patients and maternal and child health professionals using an online modified Delphi panel process.

Jan 12, 2021
Journal Article

Rating the Seriousness of Maternal and Child Health Outcomes Linked with Pregnancy Weight Gain

This article estimates the seriousness of eleven maternal and child health outcomes that have been consistently associated with pregnancy weight gain by engaging patients and health professionals.

Jan 12, 2021
Report

Examining Interventions to Address Infant Mortality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Poor birth and infant outcomes and pronounced racial disparities persist in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, despite robust maternal and child health and social service systems. Which interventions are the most effective and how does effectiveness vary for women with different risk and other factors?

Jan 6, 2021
Journal Article

The Use of and Experiences With Telelactation Among Rural Breastfeeding Mothers: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial

The objective of this study was to identify maternal characteristics associated with the demand for and use of telelactation and to describe visit characteristics.

Nov 17, 2020
Journal Article

The Affordable Care Act, Breastfeeding, and Breast Pump Health Insurance Coverage

Viewpoint on the Affordable Care Act, breastfeeding, and breast pump health insurance coverage.

Nov 17, 2020

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Next

Research conducted by