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Timely Prenatal Care. Prenatal
care—especially care beginning in the first trimester—improves
pregnancy outcomes by identifying and managing chronic and
pregnancy-related conditions and providing expectant parents
with relevant health care advice. The rate of first trimester
prenatal care utilization has been increasing fairly steadily
since the early 1990s, and in 2004, 83.9 percent of women
in 41 States, Washington DC, and New York City received
prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The increase in prenatal care utilization
over the past 15 years has been especially remarkable among
racial and ethnic groups with historically low rates of
prenatal care. The proportion of non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic,
and American Indian/Alaska Native women receiving early
prenatal care increased by 20 percent or more since 1990;
however, disparities still exist. In 2004, non-Hispanic
White women had the highest rates of early prenatal care
utilization (88.9 percent), followed by Asian/Pacific Islander
women (85.6 percent), Hispanic women (77.5 percent), and
non-Hispanic Black women (76.5 percent); American Indian
women had the lowest rate (69.9 percent).
Late or No Prenatal Care. The percentage of
women beginning prenatal care in the third
trimester or going without prenatal remained
steady in 2004 at 3.6 percent. Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black women are more than twice as
likely as non-Hispanic White women to receive
late or no prenatal care. Risk factors for late or no
prenatal care include being younger than 20
years old, being unmarried, and having low educational
attainment.
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Bar Chart: Mothers Beginning Prenatal Care in the
First Trimester, by Race/Ethnicity: 2004
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Bar Chart: Mothers Receiving Late or No Prenatal
Care, by Race/Ethnicity: 2004
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