Abstract

PIP: This paper addresses issues concerning prenatal care in the US based on research findings from the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Ideally, every woman should consult a prenatal care provider approximately 1 year prior to conception for risk assessment and counselling on possible pregnancy outcome according to one's past reproductive and medical history. The 1st prenatal care visit should occur 6-8 weeks after conception and health promotion, alcohol and smoking avoidance, sexuality, and anticipated physiological stress should be addressed. Nulliparous women need more frequent direct contract with their prenatal care provider than parous women. The report concluded that for 1984-1986 1) 67% of women in the US received adequate prenatal care, 2) 18% received intermediate care, and 3) 16% received inadequate care and this proportion of women had increased since 1980. Those receiving inadequate care were characterized as being poor, black or Hispanics, uneducated, unmarried and young. WIth respect to pregnancy outcome, the highest rate of preterm delivery occurred in Mississippi (14.0%), and District of Columbia (17.4%). Also, 6.8% of babies born nationally are low birth weight (LBW), where Asian mothers have the lowest premature and LBW rates and Black mothers have the highest rates of premature births (18.3%, LBW babies (12.7%) and infant mortality. It was evident that few low income women had access to prenatal care despite the free prenatal care services provided in approximately 5,400 clinics. However, adjustments are necessary so as to improve the quality and access to prenatal care services in basically low income women.