Better Beginnings for Babies

When Hopkinsville native Ashley Campbell became pregnant, she set a very important goal for herself. She wanted to become the first in her family to carry her baby full term. On July 28, 2008, that goal became a reality when she delivered a healthy baby boy.

Sarah Almon, a midwife with the Trover Health System in Hopkins County, says this is a feat many new moms in Kentucky cannot celebrate.

"Kentucky is one of the most challenged states in the country for pre term delivery rates, and our county has one of the highest rates in Kentucky," Almon said.

Approximately 5,000 premature, low birth weight babies are born in the Commonwealth every year. In fact, Kentucky’s rates of preterm baby deliveries and low birth weight babies are among the highest in the nation and have increased by nearly 20 percent over the last 10 years.

That's why the University of Kentucky  teamed up with federal, state, and local government to form a Commonwealth Collaborative to help combat these "Kentucky Uglies," a term coined by President Lee T. Todd, Jr. to help focus UK's outreach efforts to improve the Commonwealth.  

Centering Pregnancy Smiles is a partnership between UK, the Trover Health System and the Hopkins County Health Department in Madisonville, the national CenteringPregnancy ™ initiative,  and other federal, state, and local leaders.

Beginning in January 2006, the collaboration set out to end the cycle of preterm births, low birth weight, and poor oral health in Kentucky by first focusing on expectant families from Hopkins, Muhlenberg, McLean, Henderson, Union, Webster, Crittenden, Caldwell, and Christian counties.  The initiative, based on research showing the connection between good oral health care and positive birthing outcomes, has transformed the traditional prenatal care model by creating a group setting where new moms learn and adopt healthy behaviors for themselves and their babies.  One key focus is on removing infections from expectant mothers’ mouths.

"Oral care for our pregnant patients was something that we had struggled with for years prior to this program," said Almon.  "It was very frustrating because it's also very risky for the pregnancy because we know that oral infections can actually raise the risk for complications in the pregnancy."

Thanks to federal support secured by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, UK helped to fund the Dan A. Martin Dental Clinic. The clinic, partially staffed by UK dental students, has helped to provide access to expectant mothers without insurance or funds to pay for oral health care.

"Every pregnant patient gets a cleaning, if they have not had a cleaning and a screening for problems," said Almon.  "Then we do education in the centering program about how to take good care of your teeth."

Results for the first test group that went through the program showed marked improvement.  A total of 408 women from the region are included in the data.  Among those women who received dental care and completed more than 50 percent of the Centering visits, the rates of low birth weight babies decreased from 8.6 to 3.7 percent, while the overall preterm births were reduced from 16.1 to 4 percent.

Eighty percent of the pregnant mothers in the first test group were on medical assistance. Babies and their families face significant costs associated with their prematurity and low birth weight.  Medical procedures for these babies average $50,000, making the annual cost in Kentucky approximately $25 million.

To date, the Centering Pregnancy Smiles program, working with just over 400 women in Madisonville, has already saved Kentucky $1.5 million in medical procedures needed by these babies at birth.  UK officials expect that savings to increase significantly as the program is replicated at other Kentucky sites. Fewer medical procedures will be needed at birth, and the full-term babies are expected to experience better health and lower health costs throughout their lives.

Almon hopes the program won't just change outcomes for Kentucky babies, but for babies across the country.

"We have the opportunity to make an impact on the outcomes for mothers and babies, and we want to make that better everywhere, not just in one place."

The national CenteringPregnancy initiative has already adopted many of the innovations pioneered in Madisonville, Ky., by UK’s College of Dentistry and its community partners.

For more information, visit www.uky.edu/UE/CC/oral.htm.

Click here to watch a video about what Centering Pregnancy Smiles means to new parents.