Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #110574

Devorah Wieder, Graduate Program in Public Health Studies, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 414 Anatomy-Chemistry/6110, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 610-613-6395, devorah@mail.med.upenn.edu and Ian Bennett, MD, PhD, Family Practice and Community Medicine, University of Pennslyvania, 2nd Floor Gates Building, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to explore attitudes, beliefs and perceived barriers to obtaining prenatal care among clients of a community outreach program for pregnant women and new mothers. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 female clients of MCC. The investigator reviewed the interview field notes and identified the overall themes using a content analysis approach. RESULTS: Clients experienced a lag time between awareness of pregnancy and first prenatal visit of between 1-3 months, which often served to delay prenatal care until the second trimester. Reasons for late initiation included delayed awareness of pregnancy, delay in contacting provider, waiting list for appointments at clinics, closure of clinics, type or lack of insurance and requirement to document pregnancy to apply for insurance. Most clients reported seeing a new provider for the pregnancy and placed great importance on continuity of care during pregnancy and delivery. Options for care available to low income women were often limited by insurance type or status, proximity and access to public transportation. Many clients stated that the purpose of prenatal care during pregnancy was primarily to ensure the well-being of the baby and could not cite any specific benefit for the mother. CONCLUSIONS: Access to prenatal care for low-income women is limited by availability of providers, insurance status as well as client resources and priorities. Data relating to utilization of prenatal care among clients collected by outreach organizations could be used for surveillance of obstacles to accessing care.b

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