Perinatal Education Participation: Description and Identification of Disparities

While perinatal education programs are designed to help nulliparous women prepare for childbirth and care of a newborn, many women in the United States do not attend such programs. This article presents partial data from a longitudinal study of 2,884 women aged 18-35 years who birthed their first child in Pennsylvania from 2009-2011. These partial data focused on women's participation in perinatal education and identify disparities in attendance. Overall, 79.1% reported attending one or more perinatal education programs. Women who were White, college educated, aged 30 years or older, and not in poverty were more likely to attend perinatal education programs. These results suggest a need for improved efforts to provide free or low-cost perinatal education to women across the socioeconomic spectrum in the U.S, especially in Pennsylvania.