Drawing women into prenatal care

Participation in prenatal care services in the United States is low relative to that in many other developed countries, and rates of use are declining among some high risk groups. In 1986, 18 percent of all U.S. infants were born to women who delayed care until the second trimester of pregnancy; four percent, to women who initiated care in the third trimester; and about two percent, to women who obtained no prenatal care at all. Among the major barriers to prenatal care are inadequate insurance coverage, limitations in the Medicaid program, inadequate capacity in the maternity care system, lack of coordination between health and social services for low-income women and inhospitable conditions at some sites where prenatal care is delivered. The personal beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, fears and lifestyles of some pregnant women also constitute obstacles to care. For example, having an unwanted pregnancy, attaching little value to prenatal care and having a tenuous connection to the health care system in general are important predictors of insufficient care. Encouraging universal participation in prenatal care will require a major overhaul of the maternity care system. However, while consensus for fundamental reform builds, several immediate steps should be taken--such as reducing financial barriers to care; expanding the capacity of the maternity care system; improving the policies and practices that shape prenatal services at the site where they are delivered; and increasing public information.