California North Coast Preterm Birth Prevention project.

A demonstration project aimed at reducing the incidence of preterm birth in a rural population of Northern California was conducted using risk assessment, patient education, and education for providers as interventions. We compared 1914 preintervention deliveries with 7382 births during the intervention period. Although the percentage of preterm labor patients eligible for tocolysis was 34% greater during the intervention period than during the preintervention period, and the percentage of preterm labor patients who achieved term gestation was 53% greater in the intervention period, the overall rate of spontaneous preterm delivery in the population did not differ significantly in the two periods.