title: Women's acceptance of a preterm birth prevention program.
abstract: A major modification in French national perinatal policy was proposed in 1970. Its primary aim was to reduce preterm births, and a specific program has been progressively applied to all pregnant women in France since 1971. Because the policy was introduced at a national level, it was possible to use a district hospital in Haguenau (northeastern France) as an observation site for measuring the effects of the change. A longitudinal study was begun in 1971 and continued for 12 years, during which time a total of 16,004 singleton pregnancies were followed. This article focuses on acceptance by the pregnant women in Haguenau in response to the new prenatal care proposals. A major reduction in preterm births is demonstrated, and the relationship between acceptance and observed changes in preterm birth is discussed. Certain time-related patterns were observed: it took time for the policy modification to be measurable; while the outcomes showed general improvement, results were closely related to the patient's social status; there were significant time-lag differences between social class groups with regard to acceptance of specific interventions.
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011295:Prenatal Care