| HEALTH STATUS - Reproductive Health |
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The proportion of women beginning prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy remained stable at 83.2 percent in 2000, the same proportion as in 1999. This figure has risen 9 percent since 1989, when 75.5 percent of women received early prenatal care.
Though the majority of women received early prenatal care, racial disparities persist. In 2000, 89 percent of White women and 84 percent of Asian or Pacific Islander women received early prenatal care compared to 74 percent of Black and Hispanic women and 69 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native women. The proportion of Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women receiving early prenatal care increased by 20-24 percent between 1990 and 2000. Women under the age of 20 are much less likely to receive early prenatal care than older women.
The percentage of women beginning prenatal care in the third trimester or going without prenatal care dropped from 6.4 percent in 1989 to 3.9 percent in 2000. Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women were almost three times as likely to receive late or no prenatal care as White women in 2000.
