The influence of a premarital conception and various obstetric complications on subsequent prenatal health behaviour

Abstract

This paper is a companion to an earlier report on prenatal visiting patterns in Aberdeen, Scotland (McKinlay, 1970). It examines the following three main questions: (1) Is the emerging trend towards later maternity care among young nulliparae largely due to those who delay because of premarital conception? (2) If premarital conception is primarily responsible for this trend, is this pattern of visiting behaviour continued in subsequent pregnancies, and what variation is there in such behaviour--between, for example, different socioeconomic groups and age groups? (3) Does the presence of one or more obstetric complications associated with a first pregnancy or birth have an effect on subsequent prenatal health behaviour, and does this effect, if present, interact with, say, socioeconomic status, or the legal status of the first pregnancy? The paper concludes with a discussion of some policy implications of the findings.