Sources of prenatal care data and their association with birth outcomes of HIV-infected women

Objectives. Different sources of prenatal care data were used to examine the association between birth outcomes of HIV-infected women and the Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization (APNCU) index. Methods. Adjusted odds ratios of birth outcomes for 1858 HIV-positive mothers were calculated for APNCU indexes on the basis of birth certificate data or 3 types of physician visits on Medicaid claims. Results. Claims- and birth certificate-based APNCU indexes agreed poorly (κ<0.3). Only the broadest claims-based APNCU index had lower adjusted odds ratios for low birthweight (0.64; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.49, 0.84) and preterm birth (0.70; 95% CI = 0.54, 0.91). The birth certificate-based index had a reduced adjusted odds ratio (0.73; 95% CI = 0.56, 0.95) only for preterm birth. Conclusions. The association of birth outcomes and adequacy of prenatal care in this HIV-infected cohort differed significantly depending on the source of prenatal care data.