North Carolina Providing No-Cost Progesterone Shots To, Uninsured Pregnant Women To Reduce Preterm Births

Preterm Births

A program launched in North Carolina in January to provide no-costprogesterone shots to low-income and uninsured pregnant women at riskof preterm birth might significantly affect the state's infantmortality rate, but results of the initiative are not yet clear, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality. According to the News & Observer,studies have shown that weekly progesterone shots can reduce a woman'srisk of preterm birth by about one-third. The state began providing theshots in January with a one-time grant of $150,000 from the GeneralAssembly. From Jan. 1 to July 31, 350 women received progesterone shotsat no cost under the program.

Progesterone is given only towomen pregnant with a single fetus who had a previous preterm birth. Afull course of treatment of progesterone costs about $250, comparedwith an average of $3,000 in hospital costs for preterm infants. JoeHolliday, head of the state's Women's Health Branch,said that according to clinical guidelines, 4,000 women in NorthCarolina should receive the shots. About half of those women qualify toreceive the shots at no cost, the News & Observer reports. The shots typically are covered by private insurers, and Medicaid this spring began covering progesterone.

NorthCarolina on Wednesday reported the state's infant mortality ratereached a "historic low" of 8.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006,but the state's rate exceeds the last reported national rate: 6.8deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004. One in seven infants in NorthCarolina is born prematurely, compared with one in eight nationwide,Leah Devlin, North Carolina's health director, said. Devlin added thatthe program is a "critical intervention" that will likely have a"direct impact" on infant mortality in the state (Fisher, Raleigh News & Observer, 9/6).

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