Factors associated with adolescents' risk for late entry into prenatal care

Risk factors for late entry into prenatal care were examined among 533 pregnant adolescents younger than 18. Forty-seven percent entered prenatal care after 12 weeks' gestation. Logistic regression analysis indicated that adolescents who no longer had contact with their baby's father were 4.2 times as likely as those who did to enter prenatal care after the first trimester. Adolescents with no history of abortion were 3.2 times as likely to enter care late as those who had had an abortion. Young women who had not used alcohol in the last 30 days and those with only one sex partner in the last 12 months were more likely than adolescents exhibiting riskier behavior to receive care late (odds ratios of 2.7 and 1.6, respectively). Odds of late entry into care were also elevated for those who were unemployed (1.9), black or white (1.9 and 1.7, respectively) and less educated (1.2).