Barriers and motivators to prenatal care among low-income women

Substantial evidence exists which links prenatal care to improved birth outcomes. However, low-income and nonwhite women in the United States, who are at greatest risk for poor birth outcomes, continue to receive the poorest prenatal care. The purpose of this study was to identify and compare barriers and motivators to prenatal care among women who lived in low-income census tracts. The stratified sample included recently delivered white, black and American Indian women who received adequate, intermediate, and inadequate prenatal care. Interviews were conducted which focused primarily on the women's perceptions of problems in obtaining prenatal care and getting to appointments. Results indicated that women with inadequate care identified a greater number of barriers and perceived them as more severe. Psychosocial, structural, and socio-demographic factors were the major barriers, while the mother's beliefs and support from others were important motivators. The predictive power of selected barrier variables was examined by a regression analysis. These variables accounted for 50% of the variance in prenatal care use. The results affirm the complexity of prenatal care participation behavior among low-income women and the dominant influence of psychosocial factors. Comprehensive, coordinated and multidisciplinary outreach and services which address psychosocial and structural barriers are needed to improve prenatal care for low-income women.     

Designing prenatal care messages for low-income Mexican women.

Communication theories and research data were used to design cross-cultural health education messages. A University of California Los Angeles-Universidad Autonoma in Tijuana, Mexico, research team used the methods of ethnographic and survey research to study behaviors, attitudes, and knowledge concerning prenatal care of a sample of pregnant low-income women living in Tijuana. This audience provided information that served as a framework for a series of messages to increase awareness and change prenatal care behaviors. The message design process was guided by persuasion theories that included Petty and Caccioppo''s elaboration likelihood model, McGuire''s persuasion matrix, and Bandura''s social learning theory. The results from the research showed that poor women in Tijuana tend to delay or not seek prenatal care. They were not aware of symptoms that could warn of pregnancy complications. Their responses also revealed pregnant women''s culturally specific beliefs and behaviors regarding pregnancy. After examination of these and other results from the study, prenatal care messages about four topics were identified as the most relevant to communicate to this audience: health services use, the mother''s weight gain, nutrition and anemia, and symptoms of high-risk complications during pregnancy. A poster, a calendar, a brochure, and two radio songs were produced and pretested in focus groups with low-income women in Tijuana. Each medium included one or more messages addressing informational, attitudinal, or behavioral needs, or all three, of the target population.     

Substance use and prenatal care during pregnancy among young women

Data on a cohort of young mothers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were examined for use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana during pregnancies leading to first births. A substantial proportion of women (45 percent) were found to have used at least one of these substances. White women were more likely to use a substance during pregnancy than were Hispanic or black women; women with the prospective father present in the household were less likely than other women to use a substance. Compared with well-educated and older women, less-educated and younger women were more likely to smoke cigarettes or marijuana during pregnancy, but were less likely to drink alcohol. Only about 13 percent of women used more than one substance. Nineteen percent of the women received no prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy. Less-educated and younger women were least likely to receive early prenatal care. Multivariate analysis found no association between neglect of prenatal care and substance use. Rather, the analysis revealed that the two behaviors shared likely antecedents, such as whether the prospective father was in the home prior to the pregnancy.     

流动人口孕产妇保健及分娩调查

目的　了解外地流动人口孕产妇在北京市产前保健及分娩情况 ,提出对流动人口孕产妇保健管理的建议。方法　小组访谈 :在北京市 3个近郊区的城乡结合部 ,做 3次小组访谈 ,共调查 16人 ;问卷调查 ,对 619名妇女进行面对面问卷调查。结果　 2 6 3 %的人建立了《围产保健手册》。产前检查 0次占 6 5% ,1～ 5次占 3 9 3 % ,≥ 6次占54 2 %。 583人住院分娩 ,占 94 2 %。家庭人均月收入≥ 10 0 0元住院分娩率明显高于 <10 0 0元者 (98 9%与90 2 % ,P <0 0 1)。家庭分娩率 5 8%。结论　要加强对外地流动人口孕产妇的保健管理 ,依法管理私人接生员 ,为外地孕产妇提供以人为本的优质服务     

Determinants of inadequate prenatal care utilization by African American women

A convenience sample of city-dwelling African American women (n=246) was interviewed during each woman's postpartum stay at one of five hospitals in Washington, D.C. to determine their perceptions of factors influencing their prenatal care utilization. The Kotelchuck Adequacy of Prenatal Care Utilization Index was used to classify prenatal care utilization as either adequate (Adequate Plus and Adequate groups combined) or inadequate (Intermediate and Inadequate groups combined). Of the 246 women studied, 40% (99) had adequate prenatal care utilization. Using Classification and Regression Trees analysis, the following risk groups for inadequate prenatal care utilization were identified: women who reported psychosocial problems as barriers and who were not participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) (percent adequate=8.8); women who reported psychosocial problems as barriers, were participants of the WIC program, and reported substance use (percent adequate=13.8); and women who reported psychosocial problems as barriers, were participants of the WIC program, denied substance use, and reported childcare problems as barriers (percent adequate=20.0).     

非户籍妇女产前保健直接医疗费用影响因素分析

目的:对非户籍妇女产前保健的直接医疗费用进行调查,了解非户籍妇女产前保健经济负担,分析影响产前保健直接医疗费用的因素。方法:选取2006年7月～2007年6月单月在上海市郊某二级综合医院分娩的所有非户籍人口产妇,共475例,对所有研究对象进行统一设计的问卷调查,调查在产妇分娩后进行。结果:475例研究对象产前检查次数均数是4.25次,中位数是4次,研究对象平均产前检查直接医疗费用为897.03元,丈夫是沪籍、文化程度较高、家庭年收入较高的产妇和初产妇支付较高产前检查直接医疗费用的可能性较大,OR值分别为3.150、2.903、3.186、2.056。结论:相对于低收入的非户籍妇女来说,孕产期保健的费用仍偏高。丈夫是否沪籍、本人文化程度、家庭年收入、是否经产影响非户籍孕妇产前检查直接医疗费用。     

中国已婚育龄妇女产前保健服务研究

目的:分析我国已婚育龄妇女产前保健服务状况及其变化。方法:利用《1997年全国人口与生殖健康调查》和《2001年全国计划生育/生殖健康调查》两次调查资料,采用STAT/TRASFER软件转换数据库,经过变量重新设置,连接两次调查的数据库,用SAS8.02软件对数据进行统计分析。结果:①与1997年调查前3年相比,2001年调查前3年育龄妇女的产前检查率增加较小。②1998～2000年间,95%以上城镇妇女接受产前保健服务,76%的农村妇女接受产前检查。③1998～2000年间,西部地区妇女中,超过1/3不做产前检查。西部地区以农村、少数民族、文化程度低的妇女产前保健最为薄弱。西部地区农村产前检查率远低于全国农村的平均水平。④少数民族育龄妇女的产前检查率明显低于汉族育龄妇女;随着文化程度和经济收入的增加育龄妇女对产前保健服务的利用增加。文盲妇女、经济收入低的妇女产前检查率极低。结论:我国产前保健服务状况发展极不平衡,西部地区农村的产前保健服务急待提高。需加强对西部地区和弱势育龄妇女产前保健服务的支持力度。对西部农村妇女,特别是少数民族,文化程度低、经济条件差的妇女应实施财政补贴政策。     

Barriers to prenatal care among low-income women in New York City

Postpartum in-hospital interviews with 496 low-income women in New York City revealed that attitudinal and motivational barriers as well as financial obstacles are significant impediments to timely initiation of prenatal care. The two most common reasons cited by these women in explaining why they had obtained prenatal care late or not at all were motivational items: "feeling depressed and not up to going for care" and "needing time and energy to deal with other problems." In logistic regression analyses, receipt of late or no prenatal care was significantly associated with the latter motivational barrier, along with the cost of care, having no health insurance, being Hispanic, being a substance abuser and holding negative attitudes toward the use of prenatal care.     

Breastfeeding knowledge among post-partum women enrolled in a prenatal care program

The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge of breastfeeding issues among post-partum women who had participated in a prenatal program at the Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ) Maternity Teaching Hospital. The sample totaled 135 post-partum women who answered a structured questionnaire with objective questions about practical and theoretical aspects of breastfeeding. The women had begun prenatal care at the 16th week of gestation on average, with an average of 8 medical consultations. Some 53.3% stated having received information about breastfeeding during prenatal care, and 22.2% stated that the information they remembered the best was that they should breastfeed for the first 6 months. Regarding the best moment for the first feeding, 50.4% identified it as immediately after delivery. Some 47.4% said breastfeeding protects the child from diseases. Thus, although the mothers demonstrated basic knowledge about breastfeeding, issues like the best moment for the first feeding, the importance of colostrum, and nutritional aspects for nursing mothers require further clarification during prenatal care and the immediate post-partum period.     

Improving prenatal care services for low-income African American women and infants

Increasing the level of prenatal care among African American women may be one method of improving the health and well-being of African American women and children. This article identifies factors influencing access to and use of prenatal care and strategies for increasing the use of prenatal care among low-income African American women. Barriers to prenatal care, the strengths and limitations of prenatal care in reducing infant mortality and improving infant outcomes, and the importance of providing more comprehensive prenatal care that addresses both the medical and psychosocial needs of the low-income African American mother and her infant are discussed. Changes in prenatal care services that include the medical and lay communities, public health organizations, public policy organizations, and medical financing institutions are identified.     

Knowledge of prenatal health care among Costa Rican and Panamanian women

OBJECTIVES: There is evidence that health care during pregnancy is a crucial component in ensuring a safe delivery. Because the infant mortality rate in Costa Rica is almost half the rate of Panama, the researchers tested the hypothesis that women in Costa Rica are more knowledgeable about prenatal health care than women in neighboring Panama. METHODS: A multiple-choice survey was used to evaluate women's knowledge of prenatal care using WHO recommendations as the nominal standard. Oral surveys were administered to 320 women in Costa Rican and Panamanian health care clinics. The surveys consisted of multiple-choice questions designed to assess four specific domains of knowledge in prenatal care: nutrition, danger signs, threats from illness, and acceptable activities during pregnancy. Survey answers were scored, and significant factors in assessing women's knowledge of prenatal care were determined using analysis of variance and general linear models. RESULTS: Costa Rican women scored higher than Panamanian women in most domains of knowledge in prenatal health care. Only country of origin and educational level were significant factors in determining knowledge of prenatal care. However, country of origin was a stronger predictor of knowledge of prenatal care than was having completed high school. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Costa Rican women are more knowledgeable about necessary prenatal care than Panamanian women, and that this difference is probably related to direct education about and promotion of prenatal care in Costa Rica. This suggests an influence of cultural health care awareness that extends beyond the previously established negative correlation between maternal educational level and infant mortality.     

Initiation of prenatal care by low-income Hispanic women in Houston.

OBJECTIVE: To understand why many Hispanic women begin prenatal care in the later stages of pregnancy. METHODS: The authors compared the demographic profile, insurance status, and health beliefs--including the perceived benefits of and barriers to initiating prenatal care--of low-income Hispanic women who initiated prenatal care at different times during pregnancy or received no prenatal care. RESULTS: A perception of many barriers to care was associated with later initiation of care and non-use of care. Perceiving more benefits of care for the baby was associated with earlier initiation of care, as was having an eligibility card for hospital district services. Several barriers to care were mentioned by women on open-ended questioning, including long waiting times, embarrassment the physical examination, and lack of transportation. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for practice included decreasing the number of visits for women at low risk for poor pregnancy outcomes while increasing the time spent with the provider at each visit, decreasing the number of vaginal examinations for low risk women, increasing the use of midwives, training lay workers to do risk assessment, emphasizing specific messages about benefits to the baby, and increasing general health motivation to seek preventive care through community interventions.     

Determinants of satisfaction with medical prenatal care in Quebec women]

This study aims at identifying determinants of satisfaction with medical care during pregnancy, a topic little explored until now. 937 women from the Montreal area answered a mailed questionnaire 4 to 7 months after giving birth. Results show a high level of satisfaction with prenatal care among respondents. Multiple regression analysis reveals that information variables emerge as the main determinants of satisfaction. In fact, not having received desired information appears as the strongest predictor; information pertaining to the delivery process is most often cited by women. The other predictors are events happening during the delivery process. Contrary to findings from other studies, sociodemographic data and characteristics of the physicians do not predict satisfaction. The discussion suggests some guidelines for the measurement of satisfaction with prenatal care as well as implications for practice.     

Improved birth outcomes among HIV-infected women with enhanced Medicaid prenatal care

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the impact of enhanced prenatal care on the birth outcomes of HIV-infected women. METHODS: Medicaid claims files linked to vital statistics were analyzed for 1723 HIV-infected women delivering a live-born singleton from January 1993 to October 1995. Prenatal care program visits were indicated by rate codes. Logistic models controlling for demographic, substance use, and health care variables were used to assess the program's effect on preterm birth (less than 37 weeks) and low birthweight (less than 2500 g). RESULTS: Of the women included in the study, 75.3% participated in the prenatal care program. Adjusted program care odds were 0.58 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42, 0.81) for preterm birth and 0.37 (95% CI = 0.24, 0.58) for low-birthweight deliveries in women without a usual source of prenatal care. Women with a usual source had lower odds of low-birthweight deliveries if they had more than 9 program visits. The effect of program participation persisted in sensitivity analyses that adjusted for an unmeasured confounder. CONCLUSIONS: A statewide prenatal care Medicaid program demonstrates significant reductions in the risk of adverse birth outcomes for HIV-infected women.     

Timing of insurance coverage and use of prenatal care among low-income women

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between timing of insurance coverage and prenatal care among low-income women. METHODS: Timeliness of prenatal care initiation and adequacy of number of visits were studied among 5455 low-income participants in a larger cross-sectional statewide survey of postpartum women in California during 1994-1995. RESULTS: Although only 2% of women remained uninsured throughout pregnancy, one fifth lacked coverage during the first trimester. Rates of untimely care were highest (> or =64%) among women who were uninsured throughout their pregnancy or whose coverage began after the first trimester; rates were lowest (about 10%) among women who obtained coverage during the first trimester. Women who first obtained Medi-Cal coverage during pregnancy were at low risk of having too few visits. CONCLUSIONS: Timing of prenatal coverage should be considered in research on the relationship between coverage and care use among low-income women. Earlier studies that relied solely on principal payer information, without data on when coverage began, may have led to inaccurate inferences about lack of coverage as a barrier to prenatal care.     

Family dysfunction and Native American women who do not seek prenatal care

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypotheses that, in a health system with few external barriers to care, women with no prenatal care (NPC) have higher rates of nuclear family dysfunction and disproportionate amounts of adverse neonatal outcomes compared with women with prenatal care. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Indian Health Service system. PATIENTS: Nuclear families of women not seeking prenatal care compared with those who did seek prenatal care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dysfunctional outcome measures in nuclear families were children adopted, placed, or under protective surveillance; mothers denying pregnancy, being abused, or attempting suicide; and parents with alcoholism. Neonatal outcome measures were low birth weight and neonatal intensive care days. RESULTS: Dysfunctional markers occurred significantly more frequently in families of women with NPC than in families of women with prenatal care (57% of NPC and 12% of control families; McNemar odds ratio, 14; 95% confidence interval, 4.7-41.6). Neonatal outcome in this Native American population showed that women with NPC had only 2.6% (58/2222) of the total births but accounted for 11% of the low-birth-weight infants (< 2500 g), 18% of the very-low-birth-weight infants (< 1500 g), and 24% of the level II and 41% of the level III newborn intensive care days. CONCLUSIONS: Women not seeking prenatal care in a system with few external barriers to care have significantly more family dysfunction (P < .001) than women seeking prenatal care. Infants of women with NPC generated a disproportionate amount of adverse neonatal outcome. The combination of NPC and family dysfunction was more predictive of adverse neonatal outcome than was NPC alone.     

Barriers to implementation of a prenatal care program for low income women.

By the middle of the second year of the Michigan Prenatal/Postpartum Care (PPC) program to provide pregnancy-related services to low income women who were ineligible for Medicaid or other insurance, only 25 per cent of the participating health departments were enrolling greater than 90 per cent of contracted potential clients. Using a survey of program directors and relevant state documents, we identified several barriers to successful implementation: institutional (program complexity, high levels of administrative concerns along with low levels of communication between local health departments and providers); economic (inadequate resources for provider reimbursement, outreach, transportation, high-risk pregnancies, or administrative overhead); psychological (servicing populations with multiple and hard to care for problems, potential discomfort of low income women with traditional providers); and informational (insufficient information about the program infiltrating the target community).     

Problems in estimating the number of women in need of subsidized prenatal care

For effective allocation of resources, public program planners need to know how many women require subsidized prenatal care and where they are located. Because sample surveys are expensive, indirect methods of estimation using secondary data sources are frequently used to arrive at quick annual estimates. Census data on poverty are often incorporated into such methods, but out study of the eight southeast States in Federal Region IV shows that available census data severely underestimate the proportion of pregnant women who are poor. Updated poverty data from the 1990 census will not solve this problem of underestimation. Alternative methods for estimating the number of women in need of subsidized prenatal care services, for measuring unmet need, and for doing estimates on the county level are presented and evaluated. Such considerations are especially important, given the new Title V block grant reporting requirements.