Program Impact

Overview

Program success has demonstrated that group prenatal education received in a supportive environment can impact birth outcomes, enhance participant's social support, and stimulate behavior change. In this environment, pregnant women gain social support and serve as mentors for each other. Adding to the impact is the community collaborative backbone that is a basis for program delivery at the community level. It is believed that this spirit of collaboration across agencies and programs is contributing to a much greater collective impact than any one agency working in isolation could do on its own.

Since its inception in 2010, the Kansas Perinatal Community Collaborative (KPCC) has been a driving force behind improved birth outcomes in Kansas. Overall, KPCCs have a lower preterm birth rate than the state as a whole (6.4% compared to 9.7%). Special recognition should also be called to the improvement in Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) per 1,000 live births (5-year average) from pre-implementation to post-implementation in the counties of our two longest-running KPCC sites. IMR in these two counties has significantly decreased since the inception of local perinatal community collaboratives.

• The Geary County IMR decreased significantly from 11.9 in 2005 to 2009 to 5.2 in 2015 to 2019
• The Saline County IMR decreased from 9.0 in 2005 to 2009 to 5.9 in 2015 to 2019

Further Information

For a brief overview of the program and its impact, view the Kansas Perinatal Collaborative Snapshot (PDF).

For an illustrated view of the KPCC approach and its impact, view the KPCC Infographic (PDF) and Becoming a Mom Infographic (PDF).

For a full description, view the most recently published Becoming a Mom® State Aggregate Report (PDF) which includes a detailed historical perspective and comprehensive analysis of program outcomes.