Adequate Prenatal Care in Illinois

Illinois

Early and regular prenatal care helps people have healthy pregnancies and births. To reduce pregnancy complications, prenatal care checkups are recommended at least once a month, starting at week four and increasing in frequency throughout the pregnancy. Prenatal checkups can help expecting mothers avoid or treat complications such as infections, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia that could harm mother and baby. It also gives expecting parents opportunities to talk with health professionals about their questions and concerns. Babies born to mothers who do not receive prenatal care are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes. Compared with mothers who receive prenatal care, mothers who do not get prenatal care are three times more likely to have a baby with low birth weight, and their baby is five times more likely to die in infancy.

Besides the potential harm to infants, pregnant women who attend fewer prenatal visits are more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than those who attend 10 or more prenatal visits. Most women in the United States who give live birth received early prenatal care during their pregnancy (76% in 2023). However, 1 in 15 infants is born to a parent who received late prenatal care (beginning in the third trimester) or no prenatal care at all.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, women who are more likely to receive adequate prenatal care include:

• Women ages 20-39 compared with those younger than 20.
• Non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic Asian women compared with non-Hispanic Hawaiian/Pacific Islander women.
• Women with a bachelor’s degree or higher compared with women who have less than a high school education.
• Women who have private insurance compared with those who pay out of pocket for care.

Early initiation of prenatal care can be encouraged by improving access — e.g., increasing insurance coverage and extending hours of operation at care facilities — and expanding patient education and outreach, especially to underserved populations. People benefit from understanding the signs of pregnancy (such as a missed menstrual period or nausea) and where to access affordable diagnostic testing to confirm pregnancy early in gestation. Use of a home pregnancy test is associated with earlier pregnancy confirmation. Use may be increased by expanding access to home pregnancy tests and increasing knowledge about their accuracy, particularly among adolescents. When a person first learns that they are pregnant, they should schedule an appointment with their health care provider to discuss questions, identify preexisting conditions and make a care plan.

Family planning helps people have the number of children they want at the time that they want by providing treatment for sexually transmitted infections to reduce unwanted infertility, as well as pregnancy testing and contraceptive supplies to reduce the likelihood of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. Those with unplanned pregnancies are less likely to receive early prenatal care because they may not recognize the pregnancy early. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published recommendations for providing quality family planning services, including preconception care.

Healthy People 2030 has an objective to increase the proportion of pregnant women who receive early and adequate prenatal care.

Butler, Adrienne Stith, and Ellen Wright Clayton, eds. A Review of the HHS Family Planning Program: Mission, Management, and Measurement of Results. Washington, D.C: National Academies Press, 2009. https://doi.org/10.17226/12585.

Gavin, Loretta, and Karen Pazol. “Update: Providing Quality Family Planning Services — Recommendations from CDC and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs, 2015.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 65, no. 9 (March 11, 2016): 231–34. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6509a3.

Kost, Kathryn, and Laura Lindberg. “Pregnancy Intentions, Maternal Behaviors, and Infant Health: Investigating Relationships With New Measures and Propensity Score Analysis.” Demography 52, no. 1 (February 2015): 83–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-014-0359-9.

Nelson, Daniel B., Michelle H. Moniz, and Matthew M. Davis. “Population-Level Factors Associated with Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1997–2012.” BMC Public Health 18, no. 1 (December 2018): 1007. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5935-2.

Novoa, Cristina. Ensuring Healthy Births Through Prenatal Support: Innovations From Three Models. Center for American Progress, January 31, 2020. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2020/01/31/479930/ensuring-healthy-births-prenatal-support/.

Osterman, Michelle J. K., and Joyce A. Martin. “Timing and Adequacy of Prenatal Care in the United States, 2016.” National Vital Statistics Reports 67, no. 3 (May 30, 2018). https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/55174.

Ralph, Lauren J., Diana Greene Foster, Rana Barar, and Corinne H. Rocca. “Home Pregnancy Test Use and Timing of Pregnancy Confirmation among People Seeking Health Care.” Contraception 107 (March 2022): 10–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2021.10.006.

Shah, Jaimin S., F. Lee Revere, and Eugene C. Toy. “Improving Rates of Early Entry Prenatal Care in an Underserved Population.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 22, no. 12 (December 2018): 1738–42.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2569-z.