To examine effects of maternity care coordination () on perinatal health care utilization among low‐income women.
North Carolina Center for Health Statistics Baby Love files that include birth certificates, maternity care coordination records, records, and Medicaid claims.
Causal effects of participation on health care outcomes were estimated in a sample of 7,124 singleton Medicaid‐covered births using multiple linear regressions with inverse probability of treatment weighting ().
Maternity care coordination recipients were more likely to receive first‐trimester prenatal care ( < .01) and averaged three more prenatal visits and two additional primary care visits during pregnancy; they were also more likely to participate in and to receive postpartum family planning services ( < .01). Medicaid expenditures were greater among mothers receiving .
Maternity care coordination facilitates access to health care and supportive services among Medicaid‐covered women. Increased maternal service utilization may increase expenditures in the short run; however, improved newborn health may reduce the need for costly neonatal care, and by implication the need for early intervention and other supports for at‐risk children.
