Prevention: Prenatal Care in the First Trimester

Pregnant women are at risk for high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and other disorders. Prenatal care is a preventive service intended to identify and manage risk factors in pregnant women and their unborn children in order to improve the chances of a healthy mother and child during pregnancy, birth, and early childhood. Prenatal care is recommended during the first trimester and throughout pregnancy.

Figure 2.16. Women who delivered live births and who received prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, by State, 1999-2002

[D] Select for Text Description.

Source: National Vital Statistics System - Natality, 1999-2002.

Reference population: Women with live births.

Key: Above average = Rate is significantly above the all-States average in each of the 4 years of data (1999-2002). Below average = Rate is significantly below the all-States average in each of the 4 years of data (1999-2002).

Note: "All-States average" is the average of all responding States (51 in this case), which is a separate figure from the national average.

• Thirteen States^viii had rates of prenatal care significantly above the all-States average in all 4 years from 1999 to 2002, with a combined average rate of 88.2% in 2002 (Figure 2.16).
• State variation in the percentage of women who delivered live births and who received prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy ranged from 69.0% to 91.5% in 2002 with a national average of 83.7%. The Healthy People 2010 target is 90%.

^viii The 13 States are North Dakota, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

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