The impact of the First Steps prenatal care program on birth outcomes among women receiving Medicaid in Washington State

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness of "First Steps", Washington State's expanded Medicaid prenatal and post-partum care program, we conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using birth and hospital discharge records from Washington State for 1999-2002.Methods Birth outcomes of 19,668 First Steps participants receiving Medicaid were compared to those of 56,728 non-participating mothers receiving Medicaid. Using logistic regression, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for the association between First Steps participation and low birth weight (