[영문]Objectives. During the 1990s, numerous public policy changes occurred that mayhave affected the health of mothers and infants in low-income neighborhoods. Thisarticle examines trends in key maternal and child health indicators to determinewhether disparities between high-poverty neighborhoods and other neighborhoodshave declined.Methods. Using neighborhood-level vital statistics and U.S. Census data, wecategorized “neighborhoods” (Census tracts) as being high poverty (greater than30% of population below the federal poverty level in 1990) or not. We comparedtrends in four key indicators?births to teenagers, late prenatal care, low birthweight;and infant mortality?over the l990s among high-poverty and otherneighborhoods in Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; Marion County,Indiana; and Oakland, California.Results. In all four metropolitan areas, trends in high-poverty neighborhoods weremore favorable than in other neighborhoods. The most consistently positive trendwas the reduction in the rate of teen births. The metropolitan areas with the mostintensive programs to improve maternal and child health?Cuyahoga County andOakland?saw the most consistent improvement across all indicators. Still, greatdisparities between high-poverty and other neighborhoods remain, and onlyOakland shows promise of achieving some of the Healthy People 2010 maternaland child health goals in its high-poverty neighborhoods.Conclusions. While there has been a reduction in maternal and infant healthdisparities between high-poverty and other neighborhoods, much work remains toeliminate disparities and achieve the 2010 goals. Small area data are useful inisolating the neighborhoods that should be targeted. Experience from the l990ssuggests that a combination of several intensive interventions can be effective atreducing disparities.