Developing strategies to encourage prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy based on identification of barriers and facilitators

Although infant mortality rates have decreased for all segments of the population, disparities still exist among subpopulations. The purpose of this presentation is discuss the findings of a research study that attempted to answer 3 questions: who are the women who enter care later than the first trimester; how do the women access the current system; and what are the system and personal barriers to accessing the system and entering care.

The methodology included: a review of the 2006 EBC data to provide demographic information; a survey of healthcare professionals(HCPs) regarding their obstetrical practices and perceptions' of factors that prevent women from seeking care during the first trimester; and a survey of of new mothers regarding their perception of their access to prenatal care.

The findings of the data analysis were: the most important to early access of prenatal care were age, race, education, insurance, employment, number of pregnancies and whether or not the father of the baby accepted his responsibility. The HCPs stated that they made appointments for women within 7-14 days. Only 64% of the HCPs saw their patients during the first trimester of pregnancy. The reasons given by the HCPs for the women not receiving care promptly were transportation, lack of awareness of pregnancy and lack of perception of the importance of prenatal care.A majority of the women stated they received prenatal care on a timetable acceptable to them, and that a HCP or HMO was the primary source of prenatal care.