Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait

Congratulations to Karla Damus on the publication of her book entitled Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait that describes her program in Kentucky to reduce preterm birth rates over 60 months, and provides evidence for an effective intervention that can be applied in other communities.

From the Back Cover

Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® provides readers with an overview of the problem of preterm birth in the US and describes in detail the design, implementation, evaluation, and outcomes of the Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® initiative conducted in Kentucky between 2007 – 2009. The initiative sought to determine if the rising rate of preterm birth could be reversed by a program of bundling evidence-based interventions and developing partnerships among key stakeholders. It provided an innovative model that involved clinical, public health, and community advocacy collaborations to address community-specific challenges impacting preterm birth. The results showed that Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® achieved a statistically significant reduction in preterm birth rates over 60 months, not only in the intervention sites but also in the comparison sites and the remainder of Kentucky and provides evidence for an effective intervention that can be applied in other communities.

In Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait®, readers will learn of a unique research approach employing a mixed ecologic design that compared outcomes between intervention sites and comparison sites based on state vital records to evaluate outcomes. The potential for synergistic improvements in patient care coordination through the establishment of collaborative relationships between clinical and public health professionals is also presented.

Finally, working with the community to identify effective consumer messages and educational materials is discussed, as well as challenges to implementation and key lessons learned. Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait® is an essential resource for perinatal medical and public health professionals, administrators and organizations interested in an innovative approach to improve perinatal outcomes by reducing preterm births, and for communities affected by high rates of preterm births that are motivated and organized to generate change.