Women's health measures in two North Carolina regions sampled from the Basic Automated Birth Yearbook (BABY) datasets: experimental findings, methodological limits and future directions.

PURPOSE

To compare selected characteristics in two North Carolina counties to document women's health services at the geographical extremes of the state.

METHODS

Using aggregated 2004 data obtained from the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, obstetric and perinatal characteristics were experimentally analyzed for the westernmost and easternmost counties in North Carolina (Cherokee and Dare County, respectively).

FINDINGS

During the experiment period, 489 infants were delivered in Dare County (population 33,518), while 259 births were recorded in Cherokee County (population 25,289). Prenatal care was established by most women in both counties by the second gestational month. Women in Cherokee County were younger and less educated at delivery than women in Dare County, and smoking prevalence was higher in Cherokee County than in Dare County (31.3% vs 12.9%; p <0.01). Cherokee County infants required assisted ventilation and other medical interventions more often than babies born in Dare County (p <0.01) yet significantly fewer cesarean deliveries were performed in Cherokee County than Dare County (25.5% vs 35.2%; p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

This pilot study showed a significantly higher rate of tobacco use, and lower maternal education level in Cherokee County was associated with a higher incidence of multiple maternal complications and neonatal interventions compared to Dare County. Interestingly, the cesarean delivery rate was lower in Cherokee County despite these factors. We found < 10% of babies born in the study regions required any neonatal intervention. Early and almost universal access to prenatal care did not appear to be a problem at either site. Our preliminary comparison identified important limitations in this government-sponsored dataset that rendered logistic regression analysis methodologically impossible. Changes in process could improve surveillance based on patient-level data and facilitate multivariate analysis. Specific interventions to optimize women's health services form the basis of future experimental research, including larger regional populations.