top of page
A recent RCT evaluated CenteringPregnancy, a widely-used group prenatal care program that aims to improve racial equity in birth outcomes. Quick take: High-quality RCT finds no impact on rate of preterm birth or low birthweight for whole sample, or for Black or Hispanic subgroups.

Program:

  • CenteringPregnancy provides groups of 8-12 pregnant patients with group prenatal care sessions, including physical assessments followed by facilitated group discussion of family planning & childbirth preparation, stress management, newborn care, and parenting skills.


Study Design:

  • The study sample comprised 2,350 low or moderate income patients (41% Black, 21% Hispanic) who were randomly assigned to CenteringPregnancy vs usual (individual) care. Based on careful review, I believe the RCT was high quality (e.g., excellent baseline balance & low attrition).


Findings:

  • For the whole sample, the study unfortunately found no discernible impact on either the rate of preterm birth (10% treatment vs 9% control) or low birthweight (10% treatment vs 9% control). The study also found no impacts for Black or Hispanic patients analyzed separately.


  • The lack of subgroup effects for Black and Hispanic patients is disappointing but not yet definitive, as the study sample wasn't large enough to fully rule out such effects.

bottom of page