Study indicates positive trend in prenatal care - report from United States Health and Human Services, 2002 - Brief Article

AORN Journal, April, 2003

An increased number of women are receiving prenatal care in the first trimester, according to a Dec 18, 2002, news release from the US Department of Health and Human Services. Study data show that in 2001, 83% of women received timely prenatal care, compared to 76% in 1990. This increase was true for all racial and ethnic groups but particularly for Hispanic and African American women. The number of Hispanic women who did not receive prenatal care decreased from 4% to 1.6% between 1990 and 2001; the number of African American women who did not receive prenatal care decreased from 4.7% to 2.3% during the same period. Overall, only 1% of women did not receive any prenatal care in 2001.

The study also revealed the following.

* Cigarette smoking during pregnancy declined to 12% in 2001 compared to 20% in 1989.

* The number of births to teenagers declined for the 10th consecutive year.

* Births to unmarried women accounted for 33.5% of all births in 2001.

* There were a total of 4,025,933 babies born in 2001, 1% fewer than in 2000.

New Birth Report Shows More Moms Get Prenatal Care (news release, Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, Dec 18, 2002) http://www.hhs.gov /news/press/2002pres/20021218.html (accessed 21 Jan 2002).