Adequate Prenatal Care

Adequate Prenatal Care in New York

New York

Early and regular prenatal care aims to help a woman have a healthy pregnancy and birth. For pregnancies without complications, prenatal care checkups are recommended at least once a month, starting week four and increasing in frequency throughout the pregnancy. Prenatal checkups can help expectant mothers avoid or treat complications such as infections, gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. It also allows expectant mothers to talk with health professionals about their questions and concerns. Infants who do not receive prenatal care are 3 times more likely to have a low birth weight and 5 times more likely to die than those born to mothers who do get care.

The risks imposed by missing prenatal care are not limited to infants — 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 (78.3%) live births in the U.S. are to women receiving early prenatal care. However, 1 in 16 infants is born to a woman 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 more likely to receive adequate prenatal care include:

• Women ages 30-39 compared with women under 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 with less than a high school education.
• Women with private insurance compared with women who pay out of pocket for care.

Early initiation of prenatal care can be encouraged by improving access to care — e.g., increasing insurance coverage and extending hours of operation at care facilities — and expanding patient education and outreach, especially to underserved populations. Women benefit from understanding the signs of pregnancy and where to access affordable diagnostic testing to confirm pregnancy early in gestation. When a woman first learns she is pregnant, she should make an appointment with her doctor to discuss any questions, identify preexisting conditions and make a care plan.

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

Nelson, Daniel B., Michelle H. Moniz, and Matthew M. Davis. 2018. “Population-Level Factors Associated with Maternal Mortality in the United States, 1997–2012.” BMC Public Health 18 (1): 1007. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5935-2.

Novoa, Cristina. 2020. “Ensuring Healthy Births Through Prenatal Support: Innovations From Three Models.” Center for American Progress. 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. 2018. “Timing and Adequacy of Prenatal Care in the United States, 2016.” National Vital Statistics Reports 67 (3). https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/55174.

Shah, Jaimin S., F. Lee Revere, and Eugene C. Toy. 2018. “Improving Rates of Early Entry Prenatal Care in an Underserved Population.” Maternal and Child Health Journal 22 (12): 1738–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2569-z.