(FORTUNE Magazine) – More companies are offering incentives, if not outright bribes, to encourage moms-to-be to get prenatal care and help cut the number of premature and low- birthweight babies. Such births can result in long hospital stays costing $50,000 or more, and inflate maternity expenses, which for many companies are already the largest component of health care costs. The Space Systems Division of General Dynamics in San Diego offers a stroller, baby swing, playpen, portable crib, or other $50 gift to pregnant women who see a doctor in their first trimester and attend on-site seminars by the March of Dimes. Engineering supervisor Kim McCall, 32, who gave birth to Elizabeth in March, chose a car seat (see photo). General Motors' Hughes Missile Systems in Pomona, California, uses a similar reward system. Other examples of companies and incentives: -- Burlington Industries will give $100 toward a mother's $300 hospital deductible. -- First National Bank of Chicago -- the entire $350 deductible on medical care for her baby's first year. -- Fruit of the Loom -- a $100 savings bond. -- Haggar Apparel -- 100% of prenatal care bills, vs. the usual 70% to 80%. -- Home Depot -- waives her $100 hospital deductible for the birth. At E.A. Miller, a meatpacking unit of ConAgra in Hyrum, Utah, human resources head Eric Falk takes a different tack. He requires the pregnant wives of his mostly male work force to attend four evening seminars -- with husbands in tow -- or the company won't cover the birth at all. But the sessions take the form of free, all-you-can-eat dinners, with day care for older kids and what Falk calls a ''kind of date atmosphere. It's one of the most popular things we do.'' Successful too. ''We've had about 200 births since we started this program two years ago,'' he says. ''Not one of them has been a problem.''