LIFE-STYLE MODIFICATION AS AN INTERVENTION FOR INNER-CITY WOMEN AT HIGH-RISK FOR PRETERM BIRTH

This study details a programme which emphasized nursing interventions for women at high risk for preterm birth Preterm birth continues to be a major health problem, with ongoing research being conducted both in the United States and internationally in an effort to find causative factors Programmes designed to prevent preterm birth have been described often in the literature, with lifestyle factors being implicated in the incidence of preterm birth by many researchers The purpose of this study was to determine the lifestyle factors most often associated with preterm birth in a high risk population of inner city women, and to examine the effect of change in lifestyle when change was possible Women at high risk for preterm birth were interviewed extensively for prevalence of 12 lifestyle factors most often cited in the literature as being high risk client The assessment, intervention and evaluation of lifestyle changes in the high risk perinatal client are an integral part of perinatal nursing practice, and could provide important areas for future nursing research. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved