Can a grocery store debit card improve pregnancy outcomes?
NCT ID NCT06275568
First seen Jul 13, 2026 · Last updated Jul 14, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether giving high-risk pregnant women a monthly debit card for fresh produce, along with nutrition education, helps them gain a healthier amount of weight during pregnancy and improves birth outcomes. Participants receive $100 per month from enrollment until two months after giving birth, plus text messages and support. The trial follows low-income, ethnically diverse women in Houston, Texas, tracking weight gain, pregnancy complications, and infant health.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Fresh Connect Food Rx debit card and nutrition education
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could show that providing money for fresh produce and nutrition guidance helps high-risk pregnant women gain a healthier amount of weight and have better birth outcomes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a behavioral intervention, not a drug, so results may vary widely. The study is limited to one city and specific health plans, so findings may not apply to all populations.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 620 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Less than or equal to 20 weeks medically confirmed viable pregnancy * high-risk pregnant mothers receiving care at Community Health Choice managed care organizations in Houston, Texas (High risk may include overweight/obese pre-pregnancy or at first trimester (self-report or measured BMI\>30.0), and/or prior history of diabetes or gestational diabetes, and/or prior history of hypertension or pregnancy-induced hypertension) Exclusion Criteria: * Does not Speak English or Spanish
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States